Apparatus and methods for material manipulation

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for manipulating a material is provided. The apparatus may comprise a magnetic device arranged in a three-dimensional configuration. The apparatus may comprise a surface on which at least one carrier is configured to move. The magnetic device may be configured to provide a magnetic field for driving the carrier on the surface to manipulate a material. The apparatus may comprise a controller configured to control the magnetic device to modulate the magnetic field. The controller may be further configured to detect a position and/or motion of the carrier.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation application of U.S. application Ser.No. 16/517,249 filed on Jul. 19, 2019 (issued as U.S. Pat. No.10,640,897 on May 5, 2020), which application is a continuationapplication of U.S. application Ser. No. 16/197,256 filed on Nov. 20,2018 (issued as U.S. Pat. No. 10,378,132 on Aug. 13, 2019), whichapplication is a continuation application of International ApplicationNo. PCT/US2017/067038 filed on Dec. 18, 2017, which application claimspriority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/437,910 filed onDec. 22, 2016, which applications are entirely incorporated herein byreference for all purposes.

BACKGROUND

Mechanical systems have long been used for material manipulation andtransport. As an example, mechanical systems can be used to generatesimple two-dimensional (“2D”) braided preforms such as rope and sleeveconstructions. However, these systems are not easily configurable andoften suffer from poor adaptability. In particular, existing mechanicalsystems may be unable to meet some of the challenges and requirementsassociated with three-dimensional (“3D”) braiding. In 3D braiding, fiberis routed through complex paths using moving carriers, in order tocapitalize on the specific strength of the fiber in certain directions.

Complex mechanical systems may enable a higher degree of carrier pathadaptability, and can be used for 3D braiding. However, such systems aredifficult to implement due to limitations in scale, as well as thedimensional complexity of parts that need to be manufactured. Forexample, challenges arise in manufacturing parts that can hold, move andpass carriers in a precise manner through a variety of complex paths.

In some cases, a greater degree of carrier path adaptability may beattainable by replacing a mechanical system with an electromagneticsystem. However, existing electromagnetic systems have shortcomings,such as an inability to maintain line tension during motion of acarrier, which can increase the risk of carrier ejection ormisalignment. This renders existing electromagnetic systems unsuitablefor 3D braiding applications that require proper line tension or precisealignment. From the above, it is seen that an improved apparatus andmethod for enabling a high degree of carrier path adaptability isdesired.

SUMMARY

An improved apparatus and method for material manipulation and transportis disclosed. The apparatus may include an electromagnetic actuationsystem that can move materials or parts around. For example, theapparatus can include a surface with underlying stator coils thatgenerate an electromagnetic field over the surface. The stator coils canbe arranged in a 2D planar configuration or a 3D configuration. In somecases, the stator coils may be replaced by movable permanent magnets orswitchable permanent magnets. One or more carriers for holding materialsor parts can be coupled to the surface of the apparatus. These carrierscan be controlled to move on the surface in a variety of complex paths,at different speeds and accelerations, using forces exerted by theelectromagnetic field. The apparatus provides a high degree of carrierpath adaptability and can be easily configured for differentapplications. In one example, the apparatus can be used to form complex3D structures such as 3D braided structures or 3D printed structures.This can be achieved, for example, by using the carriers on the surfaceto transport and dispense materials in complex motion paths. Examples ofmaterials that can be manipulated by the apparatus include fiber,powder, inks, liquid polymers, or composite materials. In anotherexample, parts can be transported around on the surface of the apparatusin a conveyor-like fashion, and can even be assembled together to formintermediary or finished products. The apparatus may be formed from anumber of discrete components that can be easily assembled anddisassembled. This permits scaling of the apparatus to meet differentmanufacturing requirements. For example, the apparatus can be used tomanufacture products having a wide range of shapes, sizes, andfunctionalities.

The apparatus may include a surface on which at least one carrier isconfigured to move. A magnetic device may be provided in a 3Dconfiguration in the apparatus. The 3D configuration may include aspherical or a polyhedral configuration. The magnetic device may beconfigured to provide a magnetic field for driving the carrier on thesurface. The magnetic device may include stator coils, movable permanentmagnets, or switchable permanent magnets. In some cases, a positionand/or orientation of one or more components in the magnetic device maybe adjustable or movable to alter a state of the magnetic field. In someexamples, the magnetic device may include stator coils that have thesame or different coil diameters. Optionally, the stator coils may bearranged having different spacings between the coils. Differentdensities of stator coils may be provided beneath the surface of theapparatus in the 3D configuration.

The surface may comprise a plurality of carrier guides arranged in agrid pattern. The carrier guides may be spaced apart by gaps that definea plurality of tracks. The carrier can be configured to move along thetracks in a translational or rotational manner. The tracks may alsopermit the carrier to change its direction during motion. In some cases,tracks need not be provided on the surface. For example, a surface maycomprise a trackless bearing layer on which one or more carriers canmove.

A controller can be configured to activate the magnetic device toprovide the magnetic field. The controller can drive the carrier on thesurface of the apparatus by modulating the magnetic field. Thecontroller can also drive the carrier on the surface to move in threedimensions, and along predetermined paths. In some cases, the controllercan be configured to detect a position and/or motion of the carrier.Optionally, one or more sensors may be configured to detect a positionand/or motion of the carrier. Examples of sensors may include magneticfield sensors, optical sensors, and/or inertial sensors.

The carrier may include a magnet that interacts with the magnetic fieldprovided by the magnetic device. The magnet may be a permanent magnet oran electromagnet. The magnet may be configured to interact with themagnetic field, so as to drive the carrier on the surface. The carriercan be driven on the surface to manipulate materials. Examples ofmaterials may include fibers, liquid polymers, powder materials, and/orinks. The materials can be manipulated to form objects having 3D braidedstructures, 3D printed structures, and/or 3D assembled structures.

The carrier may include a base configured to support one or more devicesthat are configured to manipulate the materials. The devices may includebobbins, assembly robots, material sprayers, or matrix injectors. Thecarrier may also include a coupling member that couples the carrier tothe surface of the apparatus, such that the carrier is capable of movingon the surface. The carrier may be configured to be driven on thesurface, in response to the magnetic field provided by the magneticdevice. The carrier can be driven on the surface in three dimensions,and can move on the surface in a translational or rotational manner.

It shall be understood that different aspects of the disclosure can beappreciated individually, collectively, or in combination with eachother. Various aspects of the disclosure described herein may be appliedto any of the particular applications set forth below or for any othertypes of systems and methods for manipulating materials to form 3Dstructures, or for transportation or assembly of components.

Other objects and features of the present disclosure will becomeapparent by a review of the specification, claims, and appended figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The novel features of the disclosure are set forth with particularity inthe appended claims. A better understanding of the features andadvantages of the present disclosure will be obtained by reference tothe following detailed description that sets forth illustrativeembodiments, in which the principles of the disclosure are utilized, andthe accompanying drawings of which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic cross-section of an apparatus having asurface on which a carrier can move;

FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate the movement of a carrier on a surface of anapparatus under the influence of an electromagnetic field;

FIGS. 3A-1, 3A-2, 3B-1, 3B-2, 3C-1, 3C-2, 3D, and 3E illustrate movementof a carrier on a surface having a hexagonal grid;

FIGS. 4A-1, 4A-2, 4B-1, 4B-2, 4C-1, 4C-2, 4D, and 4E illustrate themovement of a carrier on a surface having a square grid;

FIGS. 5A-1, 5A-2, 5B-1, 5B-2, 5C-1, 5C-2, and 5D illustrate the movementof a carrier on a surface having a square grid;

FIGS. 6A through 6C illustrate examples of different shapes of a 3Dtraveling surface;

FIGS. 7A through 7C illustrate an example of a hemispherical surfacehaving a hexagonal grid pattern;

FIGS. 8A, 8B, 8C, 8D, 8E-1, 8E-2, 8E-3, and 8F illustrate a hexagonalunit array of carrier guides;

FIGS. 9A and 9B illustrate carriers located on the tracks between ahexagonal array of carrier guides;

FIGS. 10A, 10B, and 10C illustrate an example of an array ofreciprocating permanent magnets;

FIGS. 10D, 10E, and 10F illustrate another example of an array ofreciprocating permanent magnets;

FIGS. 11A, 11B, 11C, 11D, 11E, and 11F illustrate an example of an arrayof switchable permanent magnets;

FIG. 12 illustrate a carrier on which a fiber-carrying bobbin isattached;

FIGS. 13A and 13B illustrate openings in a hemispherical surface of anapparatus;

FIGS. 14A and 14B illustrate openings in a substantially sphericalsurface of an apparatus;

FIG. 15 illustrates a curved surface having a square grid pattern;

FIGS. 16A and 16B illustrate an apparatus comprising a hemisphericalsurface in a square grid pattern;

FIG. 17 illustrates an unguided trackless surface and examples ofdifferent types of carrier magnets;

FIG. 18 illustrates a block diagram of a control system for controllingthe electromagnetic field of an apparatus;

FIG. 19 illustrates a schematic circuit diagram of a control system;

FIG. 20 illustrates examples of different motion paths of a carrier on asurface of an apparatus;

FIGS. 21A and 21B illustrate a 3D braiding operation using the disclosedapparatus;

FIGS. 22A and 22B illustrate a 3D printing operation using the disclosedapparatus;

FIG. 23 illustrates a system comprising an apparatus;

FIGS. 24, 25A, and 25B illustrate carrier loading systems in accordancewith some embodiments; and

FIGS. 26A, 26B, 27A and 27B illustrate examples of lacing needle setups.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to exemplary embodiments of thedisclosure, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be usedthroughout the drawings and disclosure to refer to the same or likeparts.

The following is an overview of the contents in this disclosure:

I. General

II. Actuation Principle

III. Traveling Surface

-   -   A. Hexagonal Grid    -   B. Orthogonal Grid    -   C. Polar Grid

IV. Examples of 3D Traveling Surfaces

-   -   A. Guided Surface    -   B. Unguided Surface

V. Control Systems

VI. 3D Manipulation of Materials

-   -   A. 3D Braiding    -   B. 3D Printing    -   C. Transportation and Assembly of Components

I. General

The present disclosure provides apparatus and methods for enablingtransportation of a carrier upon which a variety of articles can beplaced. The carrier can be transported to any number of predeterminedpositions on a 3D surface within the apparatus. Materials, parts, ormanufactured articles can be transported on the carrier, as can braiderbobbins supplying yarn to be braided into braided structures in abraiding machine. Examples of materials may include fibers, liquidpolymers, powder materials, or inks. Although the apparatus is describedherein primarily with regard to braiding, it is readily apparent thatthe apparatus may also be used for printing or layered deposition ofmaterials, conveyance, or components assembly. Other uses of theapparatus will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art.

The apparatus and methods described herein can be used to enable 3Dbraiding and 3D printing. 3D manufacturing technologies have receivedmuch attention in recent years, and can simplify and streamlinemanufacturing processes. For example, 3D printing can make amanufacturing process more efficient and cost-effective, by eliminating2D planar processing (such as cutting and stacking together multiple 2Dlayers) which can be labor-intensive. 3D manufacturing technologies canalso be used to produce more complex and more reliable products, bymanipulating materials via complex paths or patterns to leveragedesirable material properties (for example, excellent tensile strengthsin certain directions). As an example, 3D braided preforms can provideunique structural features and performance characteristics tocomposites. Such desirable characteristics may include delaminationsuppression, improved damage tolerance, impact resistance, fatigue life,improved torsional resistance, improved bolt bearing strength, improvedpull-off strength, etc.

It is recognized that in the field of braiding, the technicalcomplexities of 3D braiding methods and machines are much higher thanthose of 2D braiding. For example, it can be challenging and expensiveto machine a large number of metallic parts to a complex shape, that fitperfectly in an assembly, and that are capable of moving smoothly in acontinuous braiding operation to form a 3D braided structure.

To improve manufacturability, the apparatus described herein employs astator coil array with no or few moving parts. The stator coil array iscapable of generating an electromagnetic field to move carriers alongvarious paths, for example to form 3D structures. The number ofmechanical moving parts in the above apparatus can be significantlyreduced by using the stator coil array, as compared to usingconventional gearing mechanisms. Accordingly, the scalability andoperation of the apparatus can be significantly improved.

The stator coil array can be arranged in a 3D configuration, and may beintegrated into a bedplate. The bedplate may include a surface on whicha carrier is coupled to. The carrier can be configured to move on thesurface. For example, the carrier may carry a magnet, which provides adriving force to move the carrier under the influence of anelectromagnetic field generated by the stator coil array. A high degreeof carrier path adaptability can be achieved by selectively activating(powering on/off) individuals coils within the stator coil array. Thehigh degree of carrier path adaptability allows carriers to be movedalong various complex paths with a high level of precision. Accordingly,the apparatus can be easily configured for different applications, andto meet different manufacturing requirements and product types.

The arrangement of the stator coil array may also permit a user easyaccess to the coils. This may be useful in some instances, for examplewhen a coil in the array needs to be replaced or repaired. In contrast,conventional gearing systems generally have a large number of movingparts coupled together in a serial manner, which makes it cumbersome fora user to access. The integration of the stator coil array into thebedplate permits the form factor of the apparatus to be reduced, makingit relatively compact.

FIG. 1 illustrates an apparatus 100 shown in cross-section. Theapparatus may comprise a surface 102 on which a carrier 104 isconfigured to move. The surface also provides a rigid support for thecarrier. Essentially, any conceivable material may be employed informing the surface. The surface may be made of metals, plastics,composites, glass, organic materials, inorganic materials, or acombination of any of these, existing as plates, sheets, pads, slices,films, slides, bearing layers, etc. The surface may have any convenientshape, such as a curved shape, spherical, hemispherical, square, circle,cuboid, trapezoidal, disc, etc. The surface may be smooth, or may takeon a variety of alternative surface configurations. For example, in somecases, the surface may contain raised or depressed regions. Tracks canbe formed on the surface, as described in detail later in thespecification. By way of example, the tracks may include grooves,trenches, mesa structures, or the like. The carrier can be configured tomove along the tracks on the surface. The surface may comprise a numberof discrete pieces arranged together leaving gaps therebetween to formthe tracks. Alternatively, the tracks may be machined or etched onto thesurface using well-known techniques to provide for desired surfacefeatures. For example, machining processes such as milling, lasercutting, water jets, etc. can be employed in the formation of the trackson the surface.

A stator coil array 106 may be provided beneath the surface of theapparatus. The stator coil array may be disposed on a bedplate 108 ofthe apparatus. In some cases, the stator coil array may be embeddedwithin the bedplate. The bedplate may be part of a frame of theapparatus. The bedplate may provide a surface for a carrier to move on.Alternatively, the surface (on which the carrier moves) may be providedvia as a separate layer over the bedplate. The stator coil array may becomposed of ferromagnetic materials, such as magnetically conductiveiron, iron alloys, or the like. The stator coil array may comprise aplurality of stator coils. Each stator coil may comprise a core 110which is a magnetically conductive body. Enclosed or wrapped around eachcore is a coil 112. The coil may also be shaped to conform to the core.In some cases, the coil may be tubular. Alternatively, the coil need notbe cylindrical or tubular. The stator coil array is comprised byextending the stator units along the bedplate in three dimensionsunderneath the surface. Each coil may function independently from othercoils via a controller (not shown in FIG. 1) which magnetizes ordemagnetizes each of the coils. Different coils can be selectivelymagnetized or demagnetized using the controller. Passing a currentthrough a coil in one direction causes the stator unit to generate anelectromagnetic field having a first polarity (e.g., north N). Thepolarity can be switched by reversing the current to flow in theopposite direction. For example, passing the current through the coil inthe opposite direction causes the electromagnetic field to change to asecond polarity (e.g., south S), that is opposite to the first polarity.

The stator coil array may be provided in a regular pattern or anirregular pattern. Examples of patterns may include square, circle,polygonal such as hexagonal, etc. The stator units can be spaced apartfrom one another at a fixed pitch or at a variable pitch. Differentdensities of stator units may be provided in different sections of theapparatus. For example, a portion of the surface may have a higherdensity of underlying stator units, whereas another portion of thesurface may have a lower density of underlying stator units.

A carrier can be configured to travel along the surface of the apparatusabove the stator coil array. The carrier may be coupled to the surfacebut permitted to move on the surface. Alternatively, the carrier can bedetachably coupled to the surface. The actuation of the carrier on thesurface is next described with reference to FIG. 2.

II. Actuation Principle

The stator coil array can generate an electromagnetic field to drive thecarrier along the surface. Referring to FIG. 2A, the coils in the statorcoil array are energized by sending currents through the coils, therebygenerating an electromagnetic field having the flux lines 114 as shown.The flux lines extend longitudinally through the cores of the statorcoils and intersect with one another. Essentially, the electromagneticfield is formed over the surface of the apparatus.

The carrier may include a magnet disposed thereon. The magnet may beattached onto the carrier, or may be formed as part of the carrier. Themagnet may be a permanent magnet. A driving force is generated when themagnet is in proximity to the electromagnetic field. The driving forceis generated by the interaction of the magnet's own magnetic field withthe stator coil array's electromagnetic field. The driving force caninclude attractive forces, repulsive forces, or a combination ofattractive and repulsive forces. Attractive forces are generated betweenopposite polarities (e.g., N-S or S-N), while repulsive forces aregenerated between like polarities (e.g., N-N or S-S). As an example, anorth pole of the magnet on the carrier would be attracted to a sectionof the electromagnetic field having an S-polarity. This attractive forcecan cause the magnet-carrier to move towards the S-polarity section ofthe electromagnetic field. Conversely, the north pole of the magnetwould be repelled by another section of the electromagnetic field havingan N-polarity. This repulsive force can cause the magnet/carrier to moveaway from the N-polarity section of the electromagnetic field. In somecases, a combination of attractive and repulsive forces can be appliedto hold the carrier at a particular spot on the surface, to counter theeffect of gravitational forces acting on the carrier.

The driving force on the carrier can be controlled by adjusting thecurrents delivered to the stator coil array. For example, increasing themagnitude of the currents can increase the strength of the driving forcein a corresponding manner. Increasing the driving force can cause thecarrier to move faster, such as increased speed and/or acceleration. Ina similar fashion, decreasing the magnitude of the currents can lowerthe strength of the driving force. Lowering the driving force can causethe carrier to move slower, such as decreased speed and/or deceleration.The driving force can also be modified by using magnets of differentstrengths on the carrier.

The direction of the driving force can be altered by reversing the flowof currents to individual stator units. This can result in switching ofpolarities within the electromagnetic field. The switching of polaritiescan cause the carrier to move in an opposite direction. Alternatively,it can provide a braking force to decelerate the carrier's motion.Accordingly, a range of motion characteristics (different speeds,accelerations, decelerations) are attainable by the carrier, bycontrolling the strengths and polarities of the electromagnetic fieldover the surface of the apparatus.

The carrier can be driven in a translational, rotational, or curvilinearmanner on the surface. The carrier can also be driven to move indifferent directions on the surface. For example, the electromagneticfield of FIG. 2A can be controlled to drive the carrier in a firstdirection 116-1 or a second direction 116-2, as shown in FIG. 2B. Thedirections can be parallel, orthogonal, opposite, or oblique to oneanother. The carrier can be driven out-of-plane in three dimensions onthe surface. Alternatively, the carrier can be driven in-plane in twodimensions on a planar surface. The carrier can be driven from one pointto another point on the surface. In some examples, the carrier can becontrolled to move along a predefined motion path. The path may be aclosed loop or an open-end loop. In some cases, a plurality of carrierscan be controlled to move on the surface along a series of motion pathsthat intersect with one another at different points in time. This can beuseful, for example, in 3D braiding applications in which yarn or fiberis braided in complex 3D patterns.

The carrier can be configured to carry or dispense materials such asfibers, liquid polymers, powder materials, and/or inks, either directlyor using a device attached to the carrier. As described later in thespecification, one or more carriers can be driven on the surface tomanipulate materials to form objects, such as 3D braided structures or3D printed structures.

III. Traveling Surface

A. Hexagonal Grid

As previously described, tracks can be formed on the surface of theapparatus, to provide pathways for a carrier. In some cases, the surfacemay be composed of a plurality of carrier guides adjacently spaced apartfrom one another by gaps that form the tracks. The carrier guides may beformed having any shape and/or size, and may be arranged in a gridpattern. For example, FIG. 3A-1 shows a plurality of triangular-shapedcarrier guides 302 arranged in a hexagonal pattern. Since a minimum ofsix triangular-shaped carrier guides of the same size are needed to formthe hexagonal pattern, FIG. 3A-1 therefore shows a unit hexagonal array304 of carrier guides. Tracks 314 are provided by the gaps betweenadjacently-spaced carrier guides. The tracks may be disposed at a 60degree angle relative to each other due to the hexagonal arrangement ofcarrier guides.

A carrier may be located anywhere on the tracks, and can be configuredto move along the tracks. For example, FIG. 3A-2 shows a carrier 306located at the center of the unit hexagonal array. The carrier maycomprise a magnet disposed thereon having a North (N) pole and a South(S) pole. The poles may be located anywhere on the carrier depending onthe spatial position and structure/type of magnet. As an example, thepoles may be located at opposite ends of the carrier as shown in FIG.3A-2, although the invention is not limited thereto.

The carrier guides and the carrier may be located above a stator coilarray, e.g. the stator coil array 106 shown in FIG. 1. Electromagneticfields of different polarities can be generated by the stator coilarray. For example, as shown in FIG. 3B-1, an S-polarity field isgenerated at location 308-1, and another S-polarity field is generatedat location 308-2. The interaction between the S-polarity field at 308-1and the S pole of the magnet generates a repulsive force that pushes thecarrier away from location 308-1. Conversely, the interaction betweenthe S-polarity field at 308-2 and the N pole of the magnet generates anattractive force that pulls the carrier towards location 308-2. Theattractive and repulsive forces collectively provide a driving forcethat moves the carrier in the direction 310 shown in FIG. 3B-2, totranslate by a distance along the track. Accordingly, driving forces canbe generated in a plurality of different directions along the tracks, bymodulating the polarities of the electromagnetic fields at differentlocations on the surface of the apparatus. The amount of distancetraveled by the carrier, point-to-point travel, speed, acceleration,deceleration, and other motion characteristics of the carrier can becontrolled by adjusting various aspects of the electromagnetic fields,such as strengths, polarities, locations, and directions of theelectromagnetic fields.

In addition to translation, a carrier may also be configured to rotate.For example, as shown in FIG. 3C-1, N-polarity fields may be generatedat locations 312-1, and S-polarity fields may be generated at locations312-2. The interaction between the S-polarity fields at 312-2 and the Spole of the magnet, and between the N-polarity fields at 312-1 and the Npole of the magnet, generate a repulsive force. Conversely, theinteraction between the S-polarity fields at 312-2 and the N pole of themagnet, and between the N-polarity fields at 312-1 and the S pole of themagnet, generate an attractive force. The attractive and repulsiveforces collectively provide a driving force that rotates the carrier inthe clockwise direction shown in FIG. 3C-2, by an angle θ of 120degrees. In the unit hexagonal array, an angle of 120 degree maycorrespond to two track spacings.

FIG. 3D shows a carrier 306 that is capable of moving along any of theplurality of tracks 314 in the unit hexagonal array. The tracks may bedisposed at a 60 degree angle relative to each other. Accordingly, thecarrier can be configured to move at a 60, 120, 180, 240, 300, or 360degree angle along the respective tracks.

FIG. 3E shows a surface 316 having a hexagonal pattern of carrier guides302. The surface may be comprised of a plurality of unit hexagonalarrays. A carrier 306 may be configured to move on the surface indifferent motion paths. For example, the carrier may move in a straightpath 320-1 from location 318-1 to location 318-2. Alternatively, thecarrier may move in a non-linear path, for example in a zig-zag manneras shown by paths 320-2 and 320-3. At the center of each hexagonal unitarray (or intersection of tracks), the carrier can switch direction inmultiples of 60 degree angle (e.g., at 60 degree, 120, 180, 240, 300, or360 degrees). The hexagonal arrangement of the carrier guides allows thecarrier to move in different complex motion paths on the surface, thusproviding higher carrier path adaptability.

B. Orthogonal Grid

The carrier guides can have other shapes besides triangular shape. Achange in the shape of the carrier guides may result in a change in thegrid pattern. For example, FIG. 4A-1 shows a plurality of square-shapedcarrier guides 402 arranged in a square pattern. Since a minimum of foursquare-shaped carrier guides of the same size are needed to form thesquare pattern, FIG. 4A-1 therefore shows a unit square array 404 ofcarrier guides. Tracks 414 are provided by the gaps betweenadjacently-spaced carrier guides. In contrast to the hexagonalarrangement in FIG. 3A-1, the tracks 414 in FIG. 4A-1 may be disposed ata 90 degree angle relative to each other due to the square arrangementof carrier guides.

Similarly, a carrier may be located anywhere on the tracks, and can beconfigured to move along the tracks. For example, FIG. 4A-2 shows acarrier 406 located at the center of the unit square array. The carriermay comprise a magnet disposed thereon having a North (N) pole and aSouth (S) pole, as previously described.

The carrier guides and the carrier may be located above a stator coilarray, e.g. the stator coil array 106 shown in FIG. 1. Electromagneticfields of different polarities can be generated by the stator coilarray. For example, as shown in FIG. 4B-1, an N-polarity field isgenerated at location 408-1, and another N-polarity field is generatedat location 408-2. The interaction between the N-polarity field at 408-1and the N pole of the magnet generates a repulsive force that pushes thecarrier away from location 408-1. Conversely, the interaction betweenthe N-polarity field at 408-2 and the S pole of the magnet generates anattractive force that pulls the carrier towards location 408-2. Theattractive and repulsive forces collectively provide a driving forcethat moves the carrier in the direction 410 shown in FIG. 4B-2, totranslate by a distance along the tracks. Accordingly, driving forcescan be generated in a plurality of different directions along thetracks, by modulating the polarities of the electromagnetic fields atdifferent locations on the surface of the apparatus. The amount ofdistance traveled by the carrier, point-to-point travel, speed,acceleration, deceleration, and other motion characteristics of thecarrier can be controlled by adjusting various aspects of theelectromagnetic fields, such as strengths, polarities, locations, anddirections of the electromagnetic fields.

The carrier may also be configured to rotate in the square unit array.For example, as shown in FIG. 4C-1, an N-polarity field may be generatedat location 412-1, and an S-polarity field may be generated at location412-2. The interaction between the S-polarity field at 412-2 and the Spole of the magnet, and between the N-polarity field at 412-1 and the Npole of the magnet, generate a repulsive force. Conversely, theinteraction between the S-polarity field at 412-2 and the N pole of themagnet, and between the N-polarity field 412-1 and the S pole of themagnet, generate an attractive force. The attractive and repulsiveforces collectively provide a driving force that rotates the carrier inthe clockwise direction shown in FIG. 4C-2, by an angle α of 90 degree.In the unit square array, an angle of 90 degree may correspond to onetrack spacing.

FIG. 4D shows a carrier that is capable of moving along any of theplurality of tracks 414 in the unit square array of carrier guides 402.The tracks may be disposed at a 90 degree angle relative to each other.Accordingly, the carrier can be configured to move at a 90, 180, 270, or360 degree angle along the respective tracks.

FIG. 4E shows a surface 416 having a square pattern of carrier guides402. The surface may be comprised of a plurality of unit square arrays.The surface may comprise tracks 414 arranged in rows and columns. Acarrier 406 may be configured to move on the surface in different motionpaths. For example, the carrier may move in a straight path 420-1 fromlocation 418-1 to location 418-2. Alternatively, the carrier may move ina non-linear path, for example as shown by path 420-2. At the center ofeach square unit array (or intersection of tracks), the carrier canswitch direction in multiples of 90 degree angle (e.g., at 90, 180, 270,or 360 degrees). Thus, the square arrangement of the carrier guides mayprovide lower carrier path adaptability compared to the hexagonalarrangement.

C. Polar Grid

As previously noted, the surface of the apparatus can have differentgrid patterns. In addition to the above-described hexagonal andorthogonal grids, the surface of the apparatus can be formed having apolar grid. For example, FIG. 5A-1 shows a plurality of carrier guides502 arranged in a circular concentric pattern. The carrier guidesgenerally may extend radially outward from a common center point (notshown). The carrier guides may have different shapes and sizes. Forexample, carrier guides located closer to the center point may havesmaller sizes compared to carrier guides that are located further awayfrom the center point. Due to the outward radial pattern, the density ofcarrier guides may decrease as the distance from the center pointincreases. Tracks 514-1 and 514-2 are provided by the gaps betweenadjacently-spaced carrier guides. The tracks may form a polar grid thatextends radially outward from the center point in concentric circles.

A carrier may be located anywhere on the tracks, and can be configuredto move along the tracks. For example, FIG. 5A-2 shows a carrier 506located at a point where a radial track 514-1 and a circular track 514-2intersects. The carrier may comprise a magnet disposed thereon having aNorth (N) pole and a South (S) pole, as previously described.

The carrier guides and the carrier may be located above the stator coilarray. Electromagnetic fields of different polarities can be generatedby the stator coil array. For example, as shown in FIG. 5B-1, anS-polarity field is generated at location 508-1, and another S-polarityfield is generated at location 508-2. The interaction between theS-polarity field at 508-1 and the S pole of the magnet generates arepulsive force that pushes the carrier away from location 508-1.Conversely, the interaction between the S-polarity field at 508-2 andthe N pole of the magnet generates an attractive force that pulls thecarrier towards location 508-2. The attractive and repulsive forcescollectively provide a driving force that moves the carrier in theradial direction 510-1 shown in FIG. 5B-2, to translate by a distancealong the tracks. Accordingly, driving forces can be generated in aplurality of different directions along the tracks, by modulating thepolarities of the electromagnetic fields at different locations on thesurface of the apparatus. The amount of distance traveled by thecarrier, point-to-point travel, speed, acceleration, deceleration, andother motion characteristics of the carrier can be controlled byadjusting various aspects of the electromagnetic fields, such asstrengths, polarities, locations, and directions of the electromagneticfields.

The carrier may also be configured to move in a circular direction alongthe tracks. For example, as shown in FIG. 5C-1, an S-polarity field isgenerated at location 512-1, and another S-polarity field is generatedat location 512-2. The interaction between the S-polarity field at 512-1and the S pole of the magnet generates a repulsive force that pushes thecarrier away from location 512-1. Conversely, the interaction betweenthe S-polarity field at 512-2 and the N pole of the magnet generates anattractive force that pulls the carrier towards location 512-2. Theattractive and repulsive forces collectively provide a driving forcethat moves the carrier in the arc (circular) direction shown in FIG.5C-2, to rotate by an angle (3.

FIG. 5D shows a surface 516 having a polar grid of carrier guides 502.The surface may be comprised of a plurality of carrier guides arrangedin a concentric circular pattern. The surface may comprise tracks 514arranged in radial directions (514-1) and in a concentric manner(514-2). A carrier 506 may be configured to move on the surface indifferent motion paths. For example, the carrier may move in a straightpath 520-1 from location 518-1 to location 518-2. Alternatively, thecarrier may move in a non-linear zig-zag path, for example as shown bypath 520-2. The carrier may also move in an arc, for example as shown bypath 520-3. The carrier can switch directions at the intersections ofradial tracks and circular tracks. The polar grid arrangement of carrierguides may be useful, example in producing a 3D braided article havingcylindrical shape or features.

IV. Examples of 3D Traveling Surfaces

The surface of the apparatus disclosed herein can be provided indifferent shapes, for example curved, spherical, hemispherical,cylindrical, cuboid, trapezoidal, etc. FIG. 6A illustrates an example ofan apparatus 602 having a curved surface 604. The surface may be locatedon an inside of the apparatus, and may be concave. The surface may be anopen-faced hemisphere or an open-faced half-cylinder. In some cases, thesurface may be located inside a hollow hemisphere or a hollowhalf-cylinder.

A stator coil array 606 may be located beneath the surface. For example,the stator coil array may be disposed on or embedded within a bedplate608 of the apparatus. The stator coil array may comprise a plurality ofstator coils arranged in a 3D configuration, such that the stator coilssubstantially conform with the curvature of the surface. The stator coilarray is capable of generating an electromagnetic field over thesurface. The electromagnetic field can be used to drive a carrier tomove on the surface, as described below.

Referring to FIG. 6A, a carrier 610 may be disposed on the surface, andconfigured to move on the surface. The carrier may be detachably coupledto the surface. The carrier may include a magnet disposed thereon. Aspreviously described, the carrier can be driven to move on the surfaceusing the electromagnetic field generated by the stator coil array. Thecarrier may be driven in a translational, rotational, or curvilinearmanner on the surface. The carrier may also be driven to move indifferent directions on the surface. The carrier can be configured tomove in-plane (2D) or 3D (out-of-plane) on the surface. An object, suchas a 3D braiding structure a 3D printed structure, can be formed bydriving the carrier on the surface to manipulate various materials,e.g., as fibers, liquid polymers, powder materials, and/or inks.

FIG. 6B illustrates an example of an apparatus 612 having a surface. Thesurface may comprise a plurality of adjoining sub-surfaces 614-1 and614-2. Two or more of the adjoining sub-surfaces may be orthogonal toone another. For example, sub-surface 614-1 may be orthogonal tosub-surfaces 614-2. The surface may correspond to an internal surface ofan open-faced cube or an open-faced cylinder. A carrier 610 can beconfigured to move in-plane (2D) or 3D (out-of-plane) on the surface inthe directions shown in FIG. 6B. For example, the carrier can movein-plane on sub-surface 614-1. Additionally, out-of-plane motion canoccur as the carrier traverses orthogonally between sub-surfaces 614-1and 614-2.

An apparatus may also comprise a polygonal surface, for example as shownby apparatus 616 in FIG. 6C. A surface 618 may comprise a plurality ofdiscrete sub-surfaces such that the surface becomes multi-faceted. Insome cases, the surface may be mapped to the faces of a polyhedron. Anynumber of faces and/or type of polyhedron may be contemplated. Asphericity of the surface generally increases with the number of mappedfaces of the polyhedron. For example, the surface may start toapproximate a substantially spherical surface when mapped to apolyhedron having a large number of faces (e.g., when mapped to anicosahedron). A carrier 610 can be configured to move in-plane (2D) or3D (out-of-plane) on the surface in the directions shown in FIG. 6C.

A. Guided Surface

Various grid patterns may be provided on a 3D traveling surface. Thesegrid patterns may include hexagonal (e.g., FIG. 3E), orthogonal (e.g.,FIG. 4E), or polar (e.g., FIG. 5D). The grid patterns result in guidedsurfaces, that permit carriers to be moved (guided) on the surface. Themapping of these grid patterns on a surface of an apparatus is describedas follows.

FIG. 7A illustrates a top view of an apparatus 700 comprising asubstantially hemispherical inner surface 702. The surface may have ahexagonal grid pattern. The surface may be concave. A stator coil array704 may be disposed beneath the surface. The stator coil array maycomprise a plurality of stator coils arranged in a 3D configuration,such that the stator coils substantially conform with the curvature ofthe surface. A shape of the surface may also depend on the 3Dconfiguration in which the stator coils are arranged. FIG. 7Billustrates a side view of the apparatus. Referring to FIGS. 7A and 7B,the stator coil array may be arranged in a hemispherical arraycircumferentially below the surface. A common center point 706 may bedefined with respect to the apparatus. The stator coils may be orientedsuch that their longitudinal axes point radially towards the centerpoint. As a result, the stator coils may be oriented at different anglesrelative to one another.

The stator coil array and the surface may be provided in a range ofsizes. For example, a diameter of the surface may range from about 300mm to about 500 mm. However, the invention is not limited thereto, andthe diameter of the surface can be less than 300 mm, or greater than 500mm in some cases.

FIG. 7C illustrates a magnified view of section 708 of FIG. 7A.Referring to FIG. 7C, the surface may comprise a plurality oftriangular-shaped carrier guides 710 arranged in a hexagonal array. Thecarrier guides may be arranged to some faces of a polyhedron. Any numberof faces and/or type of polyhedron may be contemplated. For example, thepolyhedron may be a convex regular icosahedron. Among all regularpolyhedrons, the icosahedron distributes the 4π angular defect evenlyover the most number of vertices, thus minimizing the distortion of thespherical triangles near these vertices. As such, it is advantageous tosubdivide the surface with an icosahedron. To render the surfacesubstantially hemispherical, the carrier guides may be arranged in anicosahedral-hexagonal grid pattern. This discretizes the surface of theapparatus into a hexagonal array of carrier guides. Also, theicosahedral-hexagonal grid pattern enables the carrier guides to bemapped to the hemispherical stator coil array.

The discretization of the surface of the apparatus into many discreteparts has several advantages. Challenges in manufacturing a smoothcurved surface that has good continuity are well-known. To overcomethese challenges, the examples described herein provide for thesubdivision of a curved surface (e.g., a hemispherical surface) into aplurality of discrete faces that collectively approximate the curvedsurface. This can be achieved through global tiling (tessellation) ofthe curved surface, which is based on numerical analysis techniques suchas finite differences method. These techniques can enable an area ofinterest (in this case the surface on which a carrier is configured tomove) to be subdivided into a grid. For example, a geodesic grid can beused to model the surface of a sphere with a subdivided polyhedron,which may be an icosahedron. The polyhedron can be subdivided into anylevel of granularity. For example, an icosahedron can be subdivided adifferent number of times to achieve different spherical node densities.

The surface 702 of the apparatus (on which a carrier is configured tomove) can include a geodesic hemispherical grid generated by thesubdivision of a platonic solid into cells, or by iteratively bisectingthe edges of the polyhedron and projecting the new cells onto ahemispherical surface. In this geodesic grid, each of the vertices ofthe resulting geodesic hemispherical surface corresponds to a cell. Anicosahedron can be used as the base polyhedron with hexagonally-arrangedcells.

The tessellation of a curved surface into an icosahedral-hexagonal gridpattern also provides several advantages over conventional rectangulargrids (e.g., Gaussian grids). For example, (i) the icosahedral-hexagonalgrid pattern may be largely isotropic, (ii) node densities (resolution)of the grid can be increased by binary division, (iii) theicosahedral-hexagonal grid does not suffer from over-sampling near thepoles (of the sphere or hemisphere), (iv) the icosahedral-hexagonal griddoes not result in dense linear systems compared to spectral methods,and (v) there are no single points of contact between neighboring gridcells. In addition, the cells in the icosahedral-hexagonal grid can beboth minimally distorted and near-equal-area. In contrast, square orrectangular grids may not be equal in area when mapped to a curvedsurface. Conversely, equal-area rectangular or square grids can vary inshape from equator to the poles of a hemispherical surface due to thecurvature of the surface.

A longitudinal axis of a central or polar stator coil may be orientedtowards the center of an icosahedral face or the vertex of anicosahedral face. The center of the hemispherical surface may be locatedon a point (vertex), or a face of the icosahedron. The faces of asubdivided icosahedron may be mapped to the hemispherical surface. Themapping may occur such that the hemispherical surface covers a number offaces of the subdivided icosahedron. For example, the hemisphericalsurface may cover x faces of the icosahedron. The hemispherical surfacemay cover full faces and/or fractional faces of the icosahedron. Forexample, the hemispherical surface may cover y number of full faces andz number of fractional faces of the icosahedron. The values for x, y,and z may be any integer. Each of x, y, and z can be any value rangingfrom 1 to 20. In some cases, a useful/operable apparatus can be obtainedeven with x=1, y=0, and z=1.

In the example of FIG. 7C, the surface may be in the form of anicosahedral-hexagonal grid. The icosahedral-hexagonal grid can begenerated by dividing the faces of an icosahedron (formed from 20congruent equilateral plane triangles) into a triangle mesh andprojecting the vertices of the mesh onto the surface formed by thehemispherical array of stator coils. The relevant topology may include amesh of triangles and hexagonal Voronoi cells.

The sphericity of the surface of the apparatus generally increases withthe number of faces of the polyhedron to which the surface is mapped.For example, the surface may approximate a substantially(hemi)-spherical surface when mapped to a polyhedron having a largenumber of faces (e.g., an icosahedron having a sphericity of about0.940). A simple icosahedron comprises 20 faces which can be furthersubdivided into a number of faces (e.g., 4*20 faces, 9*20 faces, and soforth). An icosahedral grid can be constructed by recursive constructionor nonrecursive construction. Recursive construction bisects, projects,and subdivides the initial 20 plane equilateral triangles in a simpleicosahedron, and repeats the procedure on the subdivided plane trianglesrecursively to create a grid having a desired resolution. Thenonrecursive construction subdivides the 20 initial plane equilateraltriangles, then projects the intersection points onto a surface of asphere. By splitting each icosahedron edge into s line segments, and byprojection of the intermediate points back onto a sphere, each triangleis split into s² smaller triangles. A volume filling factor f_(s)relative to the volume of the circumscribed sphere approaches 1 as sgoes to infinity, as shown in the table below. The volume filling factorf_(s) can be indicative of the sphericity of the subdivided surface.

s f_(s) Icosahedral grid 1 0.605 Simple icosahedron with 20 faces 20.873 Subdivision with 4*20 faces 3 0.941 Subdivision with 9*20 faces

The icosahedral tessellation of the surface can result in irregularitieswithin the hexagonal grid. In subdividing an icosahedron, the ratiobetween the longest and shortest sides in the triangle mesh increaseswith the grid level, and converges to about 1.195114 (which translatesto a grid irregularity of slightly under 20%). To compensate for thegrid irregularity, the stator coils in the present disclosure may bedesigned to have different coil diameters and spacings, resulting indifferent densities of stator coils over the surface. For example,stator coils of relatively larger coil diameters may be located at acenter of a face of the icosahedron. Conversely, stator coils ofrelatively smaller coil diameters may be located at points withincreased spherical node densities. The spacings between the coils canbe adjusted to vary slightly under 20% (to compensate for the gridirregularity), and the coil diameters can be adjusted accordingly. Thecoil diameters can be designed having a range of values. For example,the coil diameters may range from about 18 mm to about 23 mm. In somecases, the coil diameters may be less than 18 mm or greater than 23 mm.

The carrier guides 710 can be mapped to the underlying stator coils 704in any configuration. For example, each carrier guide may be mapped to aunique interstitial location between adjacently-spaced stator coils. Thecarrier guides can be mapped to the stator coils in a 1:m configuration,an n:1 configuration, or an m:n configuration, where m and n can be anyinteger that is greater than 1. Any values form and n may becontemplated. The densities of carrier guides and stator coils in theapparatus may be same or different.

The carrier guides 710 may be spaced apart from one another by gaps.These gaps correspond to tracks 712 that provide pathways for one ormore carriers 714 to move on the surface. The gaps can have fixed widthsor variable widths. In some examples, the gaps can have a width of about5 mm. In other instances, the gaps may have widths ranging from about 2mm to about 15 mm. Optionally, the gaps may have widths on thesub-millimeter scale.

The carriers 714 can move on the surface 702 along the tracks 712,similar to that shown in FIG. 3E. For example, the carriers can move instraight paths, zig-zag lines, and/or switch directions on the surface.The hexagonal grid pattern allows the carriers to switch directions at60, 120, 180, 240, 300, or 360 degrees, at the intersections betweentracks. In some particular instances in which the surface is mapped to aregular icosahedron, the carriers may switch directions at theintersections between tracks, except at the 5-sided intersectionspresent at the intersections of the icosahedron.

The carriers can be moved and controlled to manipulate materials to forman object, such as a 3D braided structure or a 3D printed structure.Optionally, the carriers can be used to transport materials from onepoint on the surface to another point, or for assembly of components.Examples of materials may include fibers, liquid polymers, powdermaterials, and/or inks.

A unit array of carrier guides, similar to the one shown in FIG. 3D, isnext described with reference to FIGS. 8A through 8F. FIG. 8A shows aperspective view; FIG. 8B shows a top view; FIG. 8C shows a side view;FIG. 8D shows a bottom view; and FIGS. 8E and 8F illustrate differentcross-sectional views. Although the above figures illustrate asubstantially planar configuration, it should be appreciated that theabove configuration can be easily modified to the curved surface orpolygonal surface shown in FIGS. 6A and 6C.

Referring to the above figures, a unit array 800 may comprise sixtriangular-shaped carrier guides 802 arranged in a hexagonal patternabove a stator coil housing 804. The housing may comprise a plurality ofcylinders 806 arranged in a matching hexagonal configuration. Eachcylinder may include a cavity 808 configured to hold a stator coil (notshown). The cavity may be formed having any shape. For example, thecavity may be cylindrical in shape.

The carrier guides may be located interstitially between the statorcoils. An interstitial point may be defined at the center of anequilateral triangle, that has vertices located at the centers of threeadjacently-spaced stator coils. The carrier guides may be spaced apartfrom one another by gaps that provide tracks for a carrier to move. Thetracks may be disposed at a 60 degree angle relative to each other.

Referring to FIGS. 8A and 8B, a carrier 810 may be located at the centerof the unit array where tracks 812 converge. The carrier can beconfigured to move along any of the tracks, as previously described. Thecarrier may be capable of moving in different directions, by movingalong different tracks. The hexagonal arrangement of the carrier guidesallows the carrier to change direction with less path deviation (e.g.,at 60 degree angle, as opposed to the 90 degree angle in an orthogonalarrangement). Also, the hexagonal arrangement allows for higher densitycoil nesting, thus greater power density.

The carrier guides may be located above the stator coil housing by aseparation distance d. An undercut region 814 may be defined between thecarrier guides and the stator coil housing. A height of the undercutregion may be given by the separation distance d. The carrier mayinclude a lower portion 810-1 located in the undercut region below a topsurface of the carrier guides. The lower portion of the carrier may belocated in the undercut region to maintain a position and/or alignmentof the carrier. Additionally, the lower portion of the carrier mayinclude a magnet located in proximity to the stator coil housing (statorcoils), so that the magnet has greater interaction with theelectromagnetic field generated by the underlying stator coils. Themagnet of the carrier may be disposed in proximity to the stator coils,for example by a distance ranging from about 0.1 mm to about 8 mm whenthe carrier is located directly above a stator coil. The proximitydistance may vary depending on the geometry and material of the magneticcore used in the stator coil, as well as the coil geometry and currentto be passed through the coil. The interaction of the magnet with theelectromagnetic field provides a driving force to move the carrier alongthe tracks, as previously described.

A through-hole 816 may be provided in each of the carrier guides. Forexample, a through-hole may be located at the center of each carrierguide. The through-holes can provide delivery paths for non-moving fibersupplies located underneath the stator coil housing. The non-movingfiber supplies may be routed from below the stator coil housing, througha hole 818 on a baseplate 820 to the carrier guides. A plurality ofchannels may be provided for routing the fiber supplies to the pluralityof carrier guides. For example, as shown in FIG. 8D, six differentchannels 822 may be provided for routing fiber supplies separately tothe six carrier guides 802 in the hexagonal unit array. As describedlater in the specification, a plurality of fiber-carrying carriers canbe configured to move along predetermined paths on the surface of theapparatus, so as to generate a 3D braided structure.

In some examples, the holes can provide pathways for electrical and/ormechanical components. For example, the hole 818 and channels 822 canprovide pathways for the aggregated wiring of the 19 coil cavities inthe unit array. Screws may be inserted into the through-holes 816 tosecure the carrier guides to the housing. In some examples, non-movingfiber supplies can be routed via a through-hole formed in the carrierguide, depending on a size (e.g., diameter) of the carrier relative tothe underlying carrier guide.

Referring to FIG. 8E, a cross-sectional view A-A is taken along a lineA′ passing through the centers of a straight row of five adjacentlyspaced cylinders of the stator coil housing. Accordingly, across-sectional view of the five cylinders 806 is shown in view A-A. Thecylinders may be empty (i.e., does not contain stator coils).Cross-sectional view B-B is taken along another line B′ that isorthogonal to the line A′, and FIG. 8F shows a perspective of thecross-sectional view B-B. The line B′ passes through a central statorcoil 824 located directly underneath the center of the unit array ofcarrier guides, and also passes through two empty cylinders 806 locatedon opposite sides to the central stator coil. The central stator coilmay be associated with the unit array, and can be used generate anelectromagnetic field over the unit array.

The stator coils may be rigidly fixed in position once they are arrangedin a 3D configuration (e.g., spherical array). Optionally, one or moreof the stator coils may be movable after they are in the 3Dconfiguration. A position and/or orientation of the one or more statorcoils may be adjustable. As an example, one or more of the stator coilsmay be configured to tilt at different angles within the spherical arrayconfiguration. In some cases, one or more of the stator coils may becapable of tilting at angles ranging from about 0.1° to about 15°.Optionally, a stator coil may be capable of tilting at an angle of morethan 15°. The stator coils may be tilted at different angles usingactuators. Examples of actuators may include levers, screw-drives,electromagnets, or piezoelectric actuators.

In some cases, one or more of the stator coils may be replaced withpermanent switchable magnets. The permanent switchable magnets mayinclude one or two rotatable cores to achieve different magnetic fieldstates. The use of permanent switchable magnets may be advantageous forlarger scale apparatus, due to the high power requirement for a largescale array of stator coils. The permanent switchable magnets can bedriven using motors, which typically consume less power, as compared topowering a large scale array of stator coils to generate anelectromagnetic field. In some examples, the electric current is onlyused to change the state of a magnetic field, and need not be constantlyapplied to maintain the magnetic field.

FIGS. 9A and 9B illustrate a portion of a surface 902 of an apparatus900. The surface may comprise a plurality of triangular-shaped carrierguides 904. Each carrier guide may comprise a plurality of stator coils906 embedded within. Tracks 908 may be provided betweenadjacently-spaced carrier guides. A plurality of carriers 910 may bedisposed on the surface. Each carrier may comprise a plurality ofmagnets 912 disposed thereon. The carriers can be configured to movealong the tracks when the electromagnetic force generated by the statorcoils interacts with the magnets on the carriers. Switching ofpolarities of the electromagnetic field can also cause the carriers torotate.

The surface in FIGS. 9A and 9B depicts an 8-subdivision triangularicosahedral field where, essentially, the stator coils are disposed inenlarged triangle carrier guides. This makes more efficient use of thecoil energy by driving carriers with the field on both ends of thestator coils. Also, the area below the carrier guides is available forplacing carrier sensing and communication hardware, as well asadditional carrier envelope behind the guides, which allows balancingthe carrier hardware on either side of the guides to reduce carriertorsion. As an example, the battery and control electronics of thecarrier can be located behind the field to counterbalance bobbin anddrive/motor hardware on the inbound side. A bobbin drive motor can alsodrive the bobbin from behind the guides through a central axle insidethe carrier. The configuration of the carrier guides, stator coils, andcarriers in FIGS. 9A and 9B may result in wider gaps (tracks) betweenthe guides.

In the previous examples, the stator coils are electromagnets that canbe turned on or off by controlling the flow of current through thecoils. Passing a current through a coil causes the stator coil togenerate an electromagnetic field. The electromagnetic field is removedwhen current is no longer delivered to the coils.

In some instances, moving permanent magnets may be used in place ofstator coils for modulating the magnetic field. FIG. 10A illustrates anexample of an array of movable permanent magnets 1002 for modulating amagnetic field. The array of movable permanent magnets may be providedbelow a surface 1004 of an apparatus. The surface may correspond to anactive motion plane on which one or more carriers are configured tomove.

Each permanent magnet may be an axially magnetized disc magnet having aN pole and a S pole. The permanent magnets may be made of a strongmagnetic material, e.g., neodymium. The permanent magnets provide amagnetic field that extends over the surface of the apparatus. Themagnetic field can be modulated by moving the permanent magnet relativeto the surface, as described below. The surface may comprise a pluralityof carrier guides 1006 with tracks 1008 located therebetween. In somecases, the carrier guides may include magnetic tiles 1010. The magnetictiles may be configured to focus the magnetic field towards the activemotion plane. The magnetic tiles can also mitigate the magneticinteraction/interference between adjacent permanent magnets.

Each permanent magnet may be configured to move along a reciprocatingaxis 1012 beneath a corresponding magnetic tile. A reciprocating axisfor a movable permanent magnet may extend normally to the portion of thesurface beneath where the movable permanent magnet is located. Eachpermanent magnet 1002 may be operably coupled to a gate 1014 via anextendable member 1016. The extendable member permits the permanentmagnet to move relative to the gate along the reciprocating axis. Theextendable member may be an extendable shaft. For example, theextendable member may be part of a solenoid or a piston.

The movement of the permanent magnet along the reciprocating axis can beenabled using different actuation mechanisms. In some cases, thereciprocation may be enabled pneumatically using a piston. Areciprocating magnet may be fluid actuated (using for example air)instead of electrical-based actuation to motivate the magnet. In othercases, the reciprocation may be enabled using the attraction andrepulsion forces generated by an electromagnet, for example as shown inFIGS. 10B and 10C. The gates 1014 are configured to encourage ordiscourage motion of the permanent magnet 1002 along the reciprocatingaxis 1012. Referring to FIG. 10B, the gate 1014 may be an electromagnet.When current is passed through coils of the electromagnet, the gate maypossess the polarities shown in FIG. 10B. An attractive force isgenerated by the N pole of the gate 1014 being in proximity to the Spole of the permanent magnet 1002. When the permanent magnet is in theposition shown in FIG. 10B, the permanent magnet may be in an “OFF”state because the magnetic flux is directed away from the surface of theapparatus towards the poles of the electromagnet. The magnetic flux ofboth the permanent magnet and the electromagnet are routed internallybeneath the surface of the apparatus. When the permanent magnet is inthe “OFF” state, the magnetic field above the surface is relatively weakand may be insufficient to provide a driving force to drive a carrier onthe surface.

Conversely, when the flow of current through the coils of theelectromagnet is reversed, the gate may switch polarities as shown inFIG. 10C. A repulsive force is generated between the S pole of the gate1014 and the S pole of the permanent magnet 1002, which causes thepermanent magnet to move along the reciprocating axis in the direction1018 towards the magnetic tile 1010. When the permanent magnet is in theposition shown in FIG. 10C, the permanent magnet may be in an “ON” statebecause the magnetic flux is now re-directed towards the surface of theapparatus away from the electromagnet. The magnetic flux from thepermanent magnet can be enhanced by the magnetic tile to create astronger magnetic field on the surface of the apparatus. When thepermanent magnet is in the “ON” state, the magnetic field above thesurface is relatively strong and may be sufficient to provide a drivingforce to drive a carrier on the surface. Accordingly, by controlling themagnitude and directions of currents delivered to the electromagnets(gates), a plurality of permanent magnets can be controlled in acollective manner to alternate between “OFF” and “ON” states byreciprocating back and forth relative to the active motion plane.Essentially the gates function as “magnetic switches.” This method ofcontrol allows the magnetic field on the surface of the apparatus to beeasily modulated.

FIGS. 10D, 10E, and 10F illustrate another example of an array ofmovable permanent magnets 1020 for modulating a magnetic field. Thearray of movable permanent magnets may be provided below a surface 1022of an apparatus. The surface may correspond to an active motion plane onwhich one or more carriers are configured to move. Each permanent magnetmay be an axially magnetized rod magnet having a N pole and a S pole.The permanent magnets may be made of a strong magnetic material, e.g.,neodymium. The permanent magnets provide a magnetic field that extendsover the surface of the apparatus. The magnetic field can be modulatedby moving the permanent magnets relative to the surface, as describedbelow.

The surface may comprise a plurality of carrier guides 1024 with tracks1026 located therebetween. In some cases, the carrier guides may includemagnetic tiles 1028. The magnetic tiles may be configured to focus themagnetic field toward the active motion plane. The magnetic tiles canalso mitigate the magnetic interaction/interference between adjacentpermanent magnets.

Each movable permanent magnet 1020 may be operably coupled to a gate1030. For example, the permanent magnet may be located within areciprocating cavity 1032 of the gate. The permanent magnet may beconfigured to move along a reciprocating axis 1034 extendinglongitudinally within the cavity. The gate may include one or moreelectromagnets. For example, as shown FIGS. 10E and 10F, the gate maycomprise a first coil C1 and a second coil C2. The first coil C1 may beproximal to the active motion plane, and the second coil C2 may bedistal to the active motion plane. The reciprocation of the permanentmagnet within the cavity may be enabled using attractive forcesgenerated respectively by the coils C1 and C2. Referring to FIG. 10E,when current is passed through coil C2 and no current is passed throughcoil C1, the permanent magnet may be attracted to the coil C2. When thepermanent magnet is in the position shown in FIG. 10E, the permanentmagnet may be in an “OFF” state because the magnetic flux is directedaway from the surface of the apparatus towards the coil C2. The magneticflux of the permanent magnet and the coil C2 is routed internallybeneath the surface of the apparatus. When the permanent magnet is inthe “OFF” state, the magnetic field above the surface is relatively weakand may be insufficient to provide a driving force to drive a carrier onthe surface.

Conversely, when current is passed through coil C1 and no current ispassed through coil C2, the permanent magnet may be attracted to thecoil C1. When the permanent magnet is in the position shown in FIG. 10F,the permanent magnet may be in an “ON” state because the magnetic fluxis now re-directed towards the surface of the apparatus away from theelectromagnet. The magnetic flux from the permanent magnet can beenhanced by the magnetic tile to create a stronger magnetic field on thesurface of the apparatus. When the permanent magnet is in the “ON”state, the magnetic field above the surface is relatively strong and maybe sufficient to provide a driving force to drive a carrier on thesurface. The magnetic field allows for both driving and retention (e.g.,fixing a position) of a carrier on the surface of the apparatus.Accordingly, by controlling the magnitude and directions of currentsdelivered to the coils C1 and C2 (gates), a plurality of permanentmagnets can be controlled in a collective manner to alternate between“OFF” and “ON” states by reciprocating back and forth relative to theactive motion plane within the gates. Essentially the gates function as“magnetic switches.” This method of control allows the magnetic field onthe surface of the apparatus to be easily modulated.

In some examples, the reciprocation of the permanent magnet 1020 alongthe reciprocating axis within the cavity of the gate can be enabledusing different actuation mechanisms. For example, the reciprocation maybe enabled pneumatically using a piston instead of an electromagnet.

The arrays of movable permanent magnets described above can beconfigured to work with a magnetic guide plane, as well as anon-magnetic guide plane. A magnetic guide plane may be tiled such thateach permanent magnet effects a single tile, or a group of tiles. Theguide plane may utilize triangular carrier guides for high tensionapplications.

In the examples of FIGS. 10A-10F, the movable permanent magnets areconfigured to alternate between binary states (“ON” and “OFF” states).In some cases, tri-state switchable permanent magnets can be used, forexample as shown by an array of switchable permanent magnets 1102 inFIGS. 11A-11F. These switchable permanent magnets may be capable ofalternating between three states—(1) “OFF” state, (2) “ON” state(attractive force), and (3) “ON” state (repulsive force)—by rotating adiametrically magnetized permanent magnet within a gate. The gate maybe, for example a magnetic housing.

Referring to FIGS. 11A-11F, the array of switchable permanent magnets1102 may be provided below a surface 1104 of an apparatus. The surfacemay correspond to an active motion plane on which one or more carriersare configured to move. Each permanent magnet may be a diametricallymagnetized permanent magnet having a N pole and a S pole. The permanentmagnets may be made of a strong magnetic material, e.g., neodymium. Thepermanent magnets provide a magnetic field that extends over the surfaceof the apparatus. The magnetic field can be modulated by moving thepermanent magnet relative to the surface, as described below.

The surface 1104 may comprise a plurality of carrier guides 1106 withtracks 1108 located therebetween. In some cases, the carrier guides mayinclude magnetic tiles 1114. The magnetic tiles may be configured tofocus the magnetic field toward the active motion plane. The magnetictiles can also mitigate the magnetic interaction/interference betweenadjacent permanent magnets.

Each permanent magnet may be operably coupled to a gate 1110. Forexample, the permanent magnet may be located within a cavity 1112 of thegate. In some cases, the cavity may be cylindrical, although any shapemay be contemplated. The permanent magnet may be configured to rotateabout an axis within the cavity. Rotation of the permanent magnet aboutdifferent angles in different directions can result in differentmagnetic states. For example, referring to FIGS. 11A and 11D, thepermanent magnet may be initially in the position shown. In thisposition, the permanent magnet may be in an “OFF” state because themagnetic flux is directed away from the surface of the apparatus. Forexample, the magnetic flux of the permanent magnet may be routed beneaththe surface of the apparatus such that it is trapped within the cavityof the gate. When the permanent magnet is in the “OFF” state, themagnetic field above the surface is relatively weak and may beinsufficient to provide a driving force to drive a carrier on thesurface.

The permanent magnet can be configured to rotate within the cavity ofthe gate using different actuation mechanisms, e.g., motors,electromagnets, etc. Referring to FIGS. 11B and 11E, when the permanentmagnet is rotated from its initial position by 90 degrees in a clockwise(CW) direction, the permanent magnet may be in the “ON” state becausethe magnetic flux is now re-directed towards the surface of theapparatus and out from the gate. In the position shown in FIG. 11B, thepermanent magnet may provide an attractive force to hold a carrier onthe surface of the apparatus, or cause another carrier to move towardsthe permanent magnet.

Similarly, when the permanent magnet is rotated from its initialposition by 90 degrees in a counter-clockwise (CCW) direction, thepermanent magnet may be in the “ON” state because the magnetic flux isalso re-directed towards the surface of the apparatus and out from thegate. However, in the position shown in FIGS. 11C and 11F, the permanentmagnet may instead provide a repulsive force to release a carrier, orcause another carrier to move away from the permanent magnet.

The magnetic field allows for both driving and retention (e.g., fixing aposition) of a carrier on the surface of the apparatus. Accordingly, aplurality of permanent magnets can be controlled in a collective mannerto alternate between an “OFF” state, an “ON” state (attractive force),and an “ON” state (repulsive force), by rotating relative to the activemotion plane within the gates. Essentially the gates function as“magnetic switches.” This method of control allows the magnetic field onthe surface of the apparatus to be easily modulated.

In some examples, the above-described (rotatable) permanent switchablemagnets may be replaced by electropermanent magnets which switchpolarities when electrically excited. This can eliminate the necessityof moving components, and potentially consume less power compared toelectromagnets. For example, electropermanent magnets require no powersource to maintain the magnetic field.

An electropermanent magnet may comprise (1) a magnet and (2) a wirewound around a portion of the magnet. An external magnetic field can beswitched on or off by a pulse of electric current in the wire windingaround the portion of the magnet. The magnet comprises a first sectionmade of “hard” (high coercivity) magnetic material and a second sectionmade of “soft” (low coercivity) material. The direction of magnetizationin the second section can be switched by a pulse of current in the wirewinding. When the magnetically soft and hard materials have opposingmagnetizations, the magnet produces no net external field across itspoles. Conversely, when the directions of magnetization of themagnetically soft and hard materials are aligned, the magnet produces anexternal magnetic field. Accordingly, the magnetic field on the surfaceof an apparatus can be switched to an “ON” state or an “OFF” state, byusing a pulse of current to reverse magnetization of the second sectionof the magnet.

FIG. 12 illustrates a carrier 1202 disposed on a surface 1204 of anapparatus 1200. The surface may comprise a plurality of carrier guides1206 which may be arranged in an icosahedral-hexagonal grid pattern. Inthe interest of clarity, only a portion of the housing for the statorcoils beneath the surface is illustrated. The carrier may be configuredto move along the tracks, as previously described. The carrier iscapable of moving in different directions, by moving along differenttracks.

The plurality of carrier guides may be coupled to the stator coilhousing 1208. The carrier guides may be located above the housing by aseparation distance d. An undercut region may be located between thecarrier guides and the stator coils. A height of the undercut region maybe defined by the separation distance d. In some cases, the separationdistance d (or height of the undercut region) may range from about 10 mmto about 16 mm. Alternatively, the separation distance d (or height ofthe undercut region) may be less than 10 mm or greater than 16 mm.

The carrier may include a lower portion 1202-1 located in the undercutregion below a top surface of the carrier guides. The lower portion ofthe carrier may be located in the undercut region to maintain a positionand/or alignment of the carrier. Additionally, the lower portion of thecarrier may include a magnet disposed in proximity to the stator coils.The magnet on the carrier can interact with the electromagnetic fieldgenerated by the underlying stator coils, so as to drive the carrier onthe surface of the apparatus. Specifically, the interaction of themagnet with the electromagnetic field can provide a driving force tomove the carrier along the tracks. As previously described, the carriercan be driven on the surface to manipulate a material to form an object,such as a 3D braided structure or a 3D printed structure.

A through-hole 1210 may be provided in each of the carrier guides. Forexample, a through-hole may be located at the center of each carrierguide. The through-holes can provide delivery paths for non-moving fibersupplies located underneath the plurality of stator coils.

The carrier may be configured to support one or more devices that areconfigured to manipulate a material. The devices may include bobbins,assembly robots, material sprayers, and/or matrix injectors or matrixcatalyzing devices for manipulating the material. The carrier may alsobe configured to hold electronics and power supplies for the devices.The materials may comprise fibers, liquid polymers, powder materials,and/or inks.

FIG. 12 shows a bobbin 1216 supported on the carrier. The bobbin may beconfigured to carry fiber 1214. The bobbin may be coupled to a linetensioning device 1212 for maintaining tension of the fiber. The fibermay include, for example, soft natural fibers or synthetic fibers. Insome cases, the bobbin may be configured to carry more rigid materialssuch as glass, carbon fiber, ceramics, metallic wires, etc. Thematerials can be provided having different diameters ranging fromnanoscale (e.g., nanotubes) to several millimeters (e.g., heavy rope).The bobbin may be a mechanical system. For example, the bobbin maycomprise one or more pulleys for drawing and regulating fiber from asource supply located on the carrier. The bobbin may also comprise othermechanisms for maintaining line tension as the fiber is passed through abraiding point to generate a structure (e.g., a 3D braided structure).Maintaining the line tension may be important for manipulating certainhigh stiffness materials, such as carbon fiber. The carrier can bedriven on the surface of the apparatus to manipulate materials using thedevices to form objects such as 3D braided structures or 3D printedstructures. For example, a plurality of bobbin-carriers may be driven onthe surface in complex motion paths to generate a 3D braided structure.

The carrier may comprise a coupling member that couples the carrier tothe surface of the apparatus, but that permits the carrier to move abouton the surface. The carrier can be driven on the surface, in response toan electromagnetic field generated by one or more stator coils in theapparatus, as previously described.

FIGS. 13A and 13B illustrate examples of an apparatus having openings inits surface. The openings can be useful for permitting materials to bedirected into and/or out of the apparatus. The apparatus depicted inFIGS. 13A and 13B may be similar to the apparatus of FIG. 6A except forthe following differences. In FIG. 13A, an apparatus 1300 may comprisean opening 1302-1 such that a bottom portion of the surface 1304 istruncated. The opening may be a through-hole that permits material(e.g., fiber and/or arbors) to be fed into and out of the apparatus. Theopening may be formed in any shape, e.g. circular, polygon, etc. In theexample of FIG. 13A, the opening may have a pentagon shape. The openingmay be designed to match a pentagon that resulted from subdivision ofthe icosahedron. The size of the opening can vary depending onmanufacturing needs/requirements. For example, an opening 1302-2 in FIG.13B may be larger than the opening in FIG. 13A. Any shape and/or size ofthe openings may be contemplated.

In the previously-described examples, the surface of the apparatus maybe partially spherical (e.g., an open-faced hemisphere). In some cases,an apparatus may be provided in the form of a substantially hollowsphere. For example, in FIG. 14A, the stator coil array 1402 of theapparatus 1400 may be arranged in a substantially full spherical arrayconfiguration. The apparatus may include a substantially sphericalsurface located therein, on which one or more carriers are configured tomove.

Openings 1404 may be formed on portions of the apparatus. Any shape,size, orientation, or configuration of the openings may be contemplated.For example, the openings may be designed to respectively match top andbottom pentagons that resulted from subdivision of an icosahedron. Thesizes of the openings may be the same. Optionally, the sizes of theopenings may be different. The openings may be located at(diametrically) opposite ends of the apparatus. Alternatively, theopenings need not be located at opposite ends of the apparatus. Theopenings may be formed in any shape and/or size.

In some cases, an apparatus may also comprise a door that allows anopening to be open or closed. For example, FIG. 14B shows a door 1406covering an opening 1408. The door can be removed to expose the opening,for example when feeding materials into the apparatus, or transportingmaterials out of the apparatus. The door can be physically detached fromthe apparatus. Optionally, the door may be pivoted to the apparatus, andmay swivel to open or close the opening.

In addition to hexagonal grids, a surface of an apparatus can also besubdivided into a square grid. FIGS. 15, 16A and 16B illustrate anexample of an apparatus 1500 comprising a surface 1502 that has a squaregrid pattern. Here, instead of triangular-shaped carrier guides, thesurface may comprise a plurality of substantially square-shaped carrierguides 1504. The carrier guides may be arranged in an orthogonal array(row-column configuration). The surface may be concave. The shape of thesurface may be substantially spherical-cubic. The surface may have a12-subdivision cubic spherical projection. A stator coil array 1506 maybe disposed beneath the surface. In the interest of clarity, only aportion of the stator coil array is shown in FIGS. 16A and 16B. Thestator coil array may comprise a plurality of stator coils arranged in a3D configuration, such that the stator coils substantially conform withthe curvature of the surface.

The carrier guides are spaced apart from one another by gaps. These gapsare tracks 1508 that provide pathways for one or more carriers 1510 tomove on the surface. The gaps can have fixed widths or variable widths.In one example, the gaps can have a width of about 5 mm. In otherinstances, the gaps may have widths ranging from about 2 mm to about 15mm.

The carriers may be disposed on the surface. The carriers may bedetachably coupled to the surface. The carriers may comprise single discmagnets or a fully magnetized spool. In the depicted configuration, with1512-1 and 1512-2 representing north and south poles of a single magnetor fully magnetized spool, repulsive energization of the adjacent coilswill act on three portions of the carrier drive magnet spool, exertingforce on both the widened ends and the central region. Because of this,if all coils underneath the spool are in repulsion the spool willlevitate in its guideway. If it is moved by attractive pulses from coilsin front, but not yet underneath, and levitated and pushed by repulsivepulses underneath and trailing behind, non-contact or “maglev” motion ofthe carrier can be attained. The non-contact motion is less problematicin a square grid compared to a polygonal grid (e.g., hexagonal grid). Apolygonal grid may include intersections of more than four tracks whichmay require the open gaps at those intersections to be significantlylarger in width/diameter than the tracks themselves. As a result,polygonal grids may have a low force “dead zone” at intersections ofmultiple tracks, which is less effective in trying to maintainlevitation of a carrier over the surface. Generally, grids that have3-way (triangular) or 4-way (square) intersections can maintain a closerinteraction with the underlying driving coils. The interaction of thecarrier magnet with the electromagnetic field generated by the statorcoils creates a driving force for the carriers. The carrier can move onthe surface along the tracks, similar to that shown in FIG. 4E. Forexample, the carrier can move in straight paths, zig-zag lines, and/orswitch directions on the surface. The square grid pattern allows thecarriers to switch directions at 90, 180, 270, or 360 degrees, at theintersections between tracks.

The carriers can be moved and controlled to manipulate materials to forman object, such as a 3D braided structure or a 3D printed structure.Optionally, the carriers can be used to transport materials from onepoint on the surface to another point, or for assembly of components.Examples of materials may include fibers, liquid polymers, powdermaterials, and/or inks.

B. Unguided Surface

A surface comprising tracks for carriers may be described as a guidedsurface. As previously described, the tracks are formed by the gapspacings between an array of carrier guides. In some cases, an apparatusmay comprise an unguided surface. The unguided surface does not havetracks and/or carrier guides. FIG. 17 shows an example of an unguidedsurface 1702. Essentially, the unguided surface may correspond to thesurface directly above the stator coil array 1704. In some instances,the surface can be a trackless bearing layer located above the pluralityof stator coils (on an interior of the apparatus).

A plurality of carriers 1706 may be configured to move on the surface.The surface can provide higher carrier path adaptability than aguided/tracked surface, since the carriers are not constrained by tracksand/or carrier guides in their motion. However, the lack of carrierguides may necessitate a higher density stator coil array, so as tomitigate for the loss of field cohesion and reinforced perpendicularityprovided by the carrier guides. The increased density in the stator coilarray leads to a more controlled electromagnetic field, which can enablehigher dynamic speeds and improved carrier versatility and diversity.

Due to the absence of the carrier guides, the magnets on the carrierscan be located closer to the stator coil array. For example, a distanceof the carriers' driving magnets to the underlying stator coils may besubstantially close to zero.

Permanent magnets can be provided on the carriers in differentconfigurations, for example as shown in FIG. 17. The carrier magnets canocclude and be driven by multiple stator coils concurrently. Magneticpoles can be arranged in a variety of patterns on both single andmultiple permanent magnets. Both N-S poles can be used in differentorientations relative to the driving stator coils. In some examples, asingle permanent magnet disc having approximately the same diameter asthe stator coils may be used on a carrier. A single, axially magnetizeddisc magnet may have a diameter that is sufficiently large to overlapthree or more stator coils. In other examples, a plurality of magnets(or a magnet with a plurality of co-planar adjacent pole surfaces) maybe disposed on a carrier in an arrangement such that the magnet(s) caninteract with the electromagnetic fields generated by multiple statorcoils simultaneously. The strength and configuration of the magnet(s)may be determined such that the carriers can maintain alignment andadhesion on the surface during motion (without losing alignment or beingejected from the surface).

V. Control Systems

A controller may be provided to control the stator coil array. Thecontroller can activate one or more stator coils to generate anelectromagnetic field. The controller can drive a carrier on a surfaceof the apparatus by changing the electromagnetic field. The controllercan also drive the carrier on the surface to move in three dimensions,along a predetermined path. In some cases, the controller can detect aposition and/or motion of the carrier. Optionally, the position and/ormotion of the carrier can be detected using one or more sensorsincluding magnetic field sensors, optical sensors, and/or inertialsensors.

The stator coil array may comprise a plurality of stator coils. Thestator coils can be grouped into subsets of coils with correspondingcontrol volumes. For example, the stator coils may comprise a firstsubset of coils, a second subset of coils, and so forth. Any number ofsubsets of stator coils may be contemplated. Each subset may comprise anumber of stator coils. Different subsets may comprise the same ordifferent numbers of stator coils. Any number of stator coils withineach subset, and for different subsets, may be contemplated.

A control volume may be associated with a subset of stator coils, anddefined by the space above the corresponding subset of coils. In somecases, adjacent control volumes may overlap each other to form acontinuous control volume. A size and/or shape of the control volumescan be modified by adjusting the locations of the stator coils. The sizeand/or shape of the control volumes can also depend on the tolerance,sensitivity, position, and/or orientation of the stator coils. The sizeand/or shape of the control volumes can be adjusted to optimize themagnetic flux uniformity therein, which can help to improve interactionwith a magnet disposed on a carrier.

Each subset of stator coils can be configured to generate anelectromagnetic field in a control volume associated with thecorresponding subset of stator coils. Each control volume may be definedby a space proximate to the corresponding subset of stator coils. Thecontrol volumes may or may not overlap with one another. In someembodiments, each control volume may comprise a local coordinate frame.Accordingly, the position and/or orientation of a carrier can beobtained based on the local coordinate frames, as the carrier moves onthe surface from one control volume to the next control volume.

The controller may be configured to provide electrical current pulses tothe stator coils to generate an electromagnetic field over the controlvolume for each subset of stator coils. The controller can selectivelyactivate (power on) different subsets of stator coils to generateelectromagnetic fields in different control volumes, by controlling oneor more switches to the coils via a switch module operably coupled tothe stator coils. Electrical current pulses can be provided from thecontroller to different subsets of stator coils via one or more switchesin the switch module.

The switches may include electronic switches such as power MOSFETs,solid state relays, power transistors, and/or insulated gate bipolartransistors (IGBTs). Different types of electronic switches may beprovided for controlling current to a subset of stator coils. Anelectronic switch may utilize solid state electronics to control currentflow. In some instances, an electronic switch may have no moving partsand/or may not utilize an electro-mechanical device (e.g., traditionalrelays or switches with moving parts). In some instances, electrons orother charge carriers of the electronic switch may be confined to asolid state device. The electronic switch may optionally have a binarystate (e.g., switched-on or switched-off). The electronic switches maybe used to control current flow to the subsets of stator coils.

The controller can control the switches to activate one or more subsetsof stator coils to generate electromagnetic fields in one or morecontrol volumes. In some cases, a plurality of subsets of stator coilsmay be activated simultaneously. For example, the controller cansimultaneously activate three subsets of stator coils to create threeseparate electromagnetic fields in the respective control volumes.Alternatively, a plurality of subsets of stator coils may be activatedin a sequential manner. For example, the controller can sequentiallyactivate three subsets of stator coils to sequentially generateelectromagnetic fields in the respective control volumes.

The selective activation of electromagnetic fields within differentcontrol volumes may prevent interfering electromagnetic fields frombeing generated, and may reduce electromagnetic interference between thestator coils and other devices. Reduction in electromagneticinterference can improve the accuracy and sensitivity with which acarrier can be tracked in the different control volumes. The range ofuse of the apparatus can be extended by modifying the configuration ofthe stator coils to enable different and complex carrier motion paths.

The movement of a carrier on a surface of the apparatus can befacilitated by activating different subsets of stator coils. In someembodiments, different subsets of stator coils can be selectivelyactivated depending on the location of the carrier on the surface. Insome cases, stator coils that lie outside of the active subset(s) ofstator coils may be rendered inactive, thereby preventing interferingelectromagnetic fields from being generated. In some embodiments, thecontrol volumes above adjacent subsets of stator coils may overlap so asto form a continuous global control volume over the surface of theapparatus.

The controller may be provided on or with the apparatus. Alternatively,the controller may be provided remotely from the apparatus. For example,the controller may be provided at a remote server that is incommunication with the subsets of stator coils and the switch module.The controller may have software and/or hardware components includedwith the server. The server can have one or more processors and at leastone memory for storing program instructions. The processor(s) can be asingle or multiple microprocessors, field programmable gate arrays(FPGAs), or digital signal processors (DSPs) capable of executingparticular sets of instructions. Computer-readable instructions can bestored on a tangible non-transitory computer-readable medium, such as aflexible disk, a hard disk, a CD-ROM (compact disk-read only memory),and MO (magneto-optical), a DVD-ROM (digital versatile disk-read onlymemory), a DVD RAM (digital versatile disk-random access memory), or asemiconductor memory. Alternatively, the program instructions can beimplemented in hardware components or combinations of hardware andsoftware such as, for example, ASICs, special purpose computers, orgeneral purpose computers.

The controller may also be provided at any other type of external device(e.g., a remote controller for controlling the apparatus, any movableobject or non-movable object, etc.). In some instances, the controllermay be distributed on a cloud computing infrastructure. The controllermay reside in different locations, where the controller is capable ofcontrolling the switch module and selectively activating one or moresubsets of stator coils based on the spatial or motion information ofthe carrier.

In some examples, a position sensor may be disposed on a carrier. Theposition sensor may be configured to generate an electrical signal(voltage or current signal) in response to changes in theelectromagnetic fields generated by one or more subsets of stator coils.In some cases, the position sensor may be an electromagnetic sensor. Asthe position sensor moves within a control volume on the surface of theapparatus, the interaction of the position sensor with theelectromagnetic field in the control volume may cause electrical signalsto be generated. The electrical signals may vary as the position sensormoves between different locations within the control volume.Additionally, the electrical signals may vary as the position sensormoves between different control volumes. The controller may beconfigured to receive electrical signals from the position sensor.Additionally, the controller may analyze the signals to compute a localposition of the position sensor. The local position of the positionsensor may be computed relative to a local coordinate system. The localcoordinate system may be defined at an active subset of stator coilscorresponding to the control volume in which the position sensor islocated. The controller may also be configured to compute a globalposition of the position sensor relative to the surface of theapparatus. The controller may be configured to control the switch modulebased on one or more inputs. The inputs may be provided by a user, andmay include a set of instructions for controlling activation of thestator coils, so as to effect movement of the carrier along a path onthe surface of the apparatus. The control of the switch module, and theselective activation of one or more subsets of stator coils, can bemanual or automatic.

As described above, the controller can be configured to selectivelyactivate one or more subsets of stator coils to generate electromagneticfields in the corresponding control volumes. A carrier may comprise oneor more permanent magnets. The controller can be configured to drive thecarrier by adjusting a strength and/or polarity of the electromagneticfields, by adjusting the electrical currents delivered to the one ormore subsets of stator coils. The controller can be configured to adjusta timing, magnitude, direction, and/or duration of the electricalcurrents delivered to one or more subsets of stator coils. Thecontroller may be configured to adjust the strength and/or polarity ofthe electromagnetic fields based on: (1) an orientation of the surfaceof the apparatus relative to gravity, (2) a mass of the carrier, and/or(3) an orientation of the carrier on the surface of the apparatusrelative to gravity. The controller can be configured to drive thecarrier on the surface of the apparatus at a constant speed or atvariable speeds. For example, in some cases, the controller can drivethe carrier on the surface of the apparatus at a speed of about 0.5 m/s.In other instances, the controller can be configured to drive thecarrier on the surface of the apparatus at variable speeds ranging fromabout 0.1 m/s to about 1.5 m/s. The carrier may be configured move atvarying speeds as it moves from one stator coil (or a subset of coils)to the next stator coil (or next subset of coils). The speed at which atthe carrier can be driven may depend on the strength of theelectromagnetic field generated by the stator coils, as well as thestrength of a magnet disposed on the carrier. The controller can adjustthe strength of the electromagnetic field by adjusting the currentdelivered to the stator coils.

The controller can be configured to track a carrier, by detectingchanges in the electrical currents delivered to one or more subsets ofstator coils as the carrier moves about on the surface of the apparatus.The changes in the electrical currents may result from changes inresistance of the one or more subsets of stator coils as the magnet onthe carrier moves through the electromagnetic fields. The controller canbe configured to move the carrier to a predetermined position on thesurface of the apparatus upon detecting abnormal changes in theelectrical currents. The abnormal changes in the electrical currents maybe indicative of (i) a malfunction of the apparatus, (ii) incorrectmotion paths (e.g., misalignment) of the carrier, and/or (iii) animminent collision between the carrier and another carrier or accessorydevice.

In some examples, the controller can be configured to detectfluctuations in the current that powers the stator coils to drive acarrier, and to distinguish between successful and unsuccessfullocomotion (movement) of the carrier based on the detected currentfluctuations. By monitoring the current in a drive circuit, unsuccessfulmovement pulses may be detected. For example, the passage, or lack ofpassage, of a permanent magnet in the carrier traveling over the statorcoil can alter the coil's resistance, which can cause the drive currentto fluctuate. When the controller detects unsuccessful locomotion (lackof movement) of the carrier, the controller may cause the apparatus togo into a fault control state in which power delivery to the statorcoils is terminated. The controller may subsequently initiate a seriesof mitigation steps, which may include pre-programmed attempts to returnthe carrier to its intended location or a default home location. Thefault control state and/or mitigation steps can prevent collisions ofmultiple carriers that may result in catastrophic failure of theapparatus (e.g., damage to the carrier guides, tracks, and/or underlyingstator coils)

One or more sensors may be configured to generate sensing signals inresponse to changes in the electromagnetic fields as the carrier moveson the surface of the apparatus. The sensors may compriseelectromagnetic sensors, optical sensors, inertial sensors, and/or radiofrequency (RF) sensors. The controller may be configured to determine aspatial position, orientation, and/or motion of the carrier on thesurface, using the sensing signals. The motion of the carrier can bedetermined based on a velocity and/or an acceleration obtained from thesensing signals. The velocity may include a linear velocity and/orangular velocity. Likewise, the acceleration may include a linearacceleration and/or angular acceleration. The controller can beconfigured to track the carrier using the sensing signals. Thecontroller can also control the motion path of the carrier on thesurface of the apparatus, by selectively activating one or more subsetsof stator coils in a predetermined sequence and/or based on the sensingsignals. The controller may be configured to deactivate one or moresubsets of stator coils that are not needed, or that are no longeruseful, for driving the carrier on the surface.

One or more of the sensors may be disposed in a spacing betweenadjacently-spaced stator coils. Additionally or optionally, one or moreof the sensors may be mounted to or disposed within one or more carrierguides. In some cases, one or more of the sensors may be embedded inthrough-holes located at the centers of the stator coils. Any placementor configuration of sensors in or on the apparatus may be contemplated.

Communications may be provided between one or more stator coils and acarrier. For example, a first communication unit may be disposed on topof, or laterally adjacent to a stator coil. A second communication unitmay be disposed on a carrier. The first and second communication unitsmay be in communication with each other. The first communication unitmay comprise one or more transceivers for transmitting signals to andreceiving signals from the second communication unit. Informationtransmitted and/or received between the first and second communicationunits may include: (1) the positional information of the carrierrelative to different stator coil(s), and/or (2) signals to communicatetow tensioning and rewind commands or other commands for various carriermounted devices. This may be useful for carriers that have electronicbobbin tensioning and winding systems. The second communication unit mayinclude a passive radio transponder or an onboard microprocessorconfigured to relay signals to the underlying stator coil(s) directlyunderneath as the carrier moves on the surface of the apparatus. In someinstances, a plurality of carriers having second communication units maybe provided. Each second communication unit may be configured togenerate a radio frequency identification (RFID) key for each of thecarrier. Accordingly, individual identification can be granted to eachcarrier, and different carriers can be distinguished from one anotherbased on their RFID keys. The position and/or motion of each individualcarrier can also be tracked based on its RFID key.

FIG. 18 illustrates a block diagram of a control system 1800. Thecontrol system may comprise a controller 1802, a plurality of subsets ofstator coils 1804-1 through 1804-n, and one or more sensors 1806 thatare operably connected together via a feedback loop 1808. Any number nof subsets of stator coils may be contemplated, and may depend in parton the strength of each subset of stator coils and/or a size (e.g.,diameter, depth, etc.) of a surface of the apparatus. One or morecarriers can be configured to move on the surface of the apparatus.

The controller may be configured to control and track the positionand/or movement of a carrier, and selectively activate one or moresubsets of stator coils, based on positional and speed feedback obtainedfrom the sensors as the carrier moves between on the surface of theapparatus.

Referring to FIG. 18, an input may be initially provided to the controlsystem. The input may comprise a desired path (which may include adesired position and/or speed) of a carrier. The controller may beconfigured to activate one or more subsets of stator coils, anddetermine a location of the carrier. Once the location of the carrierhas been determined, one or more subsets of stator coils correspondingto the control volume(s) at or proximate to the location of the carriermay be activated (powered on). As previously described, differentsubsets of stator coils can be activated, which can reduce powerconsumption and electromagnetic field interference effects. The positionand/or movement of the carrier may be determined based on sensingsignals obtained by the sensors. The sensing signals may be generated bythe sensors as the carrier moves on the surface of the apparatus. Theactual path (which may include an actual position and/or speed) of thecarrier may be determined based on the sensing signals, and may becompared against the input to determine an amount of deviation Δ (ifany) from the desired path (desired position and/or speed). Thecontroller may be configured to adjust the actual position and/or speedof the carrier by adjusting the currents and selectively delivering thecurrents to the stator coils, based on the amount of deviation Δ.Accordingly, a carrier can be controlled to move in a desired path onthe surface of the apparatus using the control system of FIG. 18. Thesystem can be configured to control the paths of a plurality of carriersand track the motion of each individual carrier as the carriers move onthe surface of the apparatus.

FIG. 19 illustrates a schematic circuit diagram of a control system.Referring to FIG. 19, a control system 1900 may comprise a plurality ofsubsets of stator coils 1904-1 through 1904-n electrically connected toa power supply 1910. A controller 1902 may be in operable communicationwith a plurality of switches K1 through Kn, and one or more sensors1906. The switches K1 through Kn may be located in a switch module. Thecontroller can be configured to selectively activate one or more subsetsof stator coils, either simultaneously, sequentially, alternately, or ina round-robin configuration, based on a position and/or movement of acarrier as the carrier moves on the surface of the apparatus.

The controller may be configured to control one or more switches toselectively activate one or more subsets of stator coils. For example,the controller may selectively activate the first subset of stator coils1904-1 by closing the switch K1. Similarly, the controller mayselectively activate the second subset of stator coils 1904-2 by closingthe switch K2. The controller may selectively activate an nth subset ofstator coils 1904-n by closing the switch Kn. In some cases, thecontroller may simultaneously activate two or more subsets of statorcoils. For example, the controller may simultaneously activate the firstand second subsets of field generator coils and by closing the switchesK1 and K2. Alternatively, the controller may simultaneously activate thefirst and nth subsets of stator coils and by closing the switches K1 andKn. Optionally, the controller may simultaneously activate all of thesubsets of stator coils 1904-1 through 1904-n, by simultaneously closingthe switches K1 through Kn. The controller may sequentially close theswitches K1 through Kn. Alternatively, the controller may close theswitches K1 through Kn in an alternating manner. The controller mayclose one or more of the switches at a same frequency or at differentfrequencies. The controller may close/open one or more switches fordifferent lengths of time, so as to activate or power off the subsets ofstator coils for different lengths of time. Accordingly, theelectromagnetic fields generated by the plurality of stator coils can becontrolled in a precise manner, to drive one or more carriers on thesurface of the apparatus.

A spherical or hemispherical electromagnetic field has gravity indifferent vectors (relative to the local field normal) in differentareas. Accordingly, locomotive current pulse(s) may be delivered withdifferent timing and current magnitude to different stator coillocations (or subsets of coils), depending on where a carrier is locatedon the spherical surface of the apparatus and how the spherical surfaceis being oriented relative to gravity. In some instances, if a statorcoil has sufficient magnetic mass, the carrier may not fall due togravity (when it is perpendicular to the field normal) when the coil isin an unpowered state. However, steering the carrier along proper tracksat dynamic speeds may require different stator coil electromagneticforces, and may depend on the vector of gravity.

As previously described, distances between adjacently-spaced statorcoils may not be the same over the surface of the apparatus, due to theslightly irregular nature of icosahedral tessellation. The gridirregularities can be compensated by using larger coil diameters at thecenter of the icosahedral face, and smaller coil diameters toward pointswhere node density increases. The activation of the stator coils (orcontrol signals to the stator coils) may take into consideration thedifferences in coil spacing and diameters, so as to effect more precisecontrol over the carrier path and movements.

VI. 3D Manipulation of Materials

FIG. 20 illustrates different movements of a carrier 2004 on a surface2002 of an apparatus 2000. The surface may be an inner surface of theapparatus. The apparatus and surface may include one or more of thepreviously-described examples. The carrier can be driven in atranslational, rotational, or curvilinear manner on the surface. Thecarrier can also be driven to move in different directions on thesurface. For example, an electromagnetic field generated by a statorcoil array can be used to drive the carrier in different directions. Thedirections can be parallel, orthogonal, opposite, or oblique to oneanother. The carrier can be driven out-of-plane in three dimensions onthe surface. Alternatively, the carrier can be driven in-plane in twodimensions on a planar surface. The carrier can be driven from one pointto another point on the surface. In some examples, the carrier can becontrolled to move along a predefined motion path. The path may be aclosed loop or an open-end loop. In some cases, a plurality of carrierscan be controlled to move on the surface along a series of motion paths2006 that may intersect with one another at different points in time.This can be useful, for example, in 3D braiding applications in whichyarn or fiber is braided in complex 3D patterns.

The carrier can be configured to carry or dispense materials such asfibers, liquid polymers, powder materials, and/or inks, either directlyor using a device attached to the carrier. As described below, aplurality of carriers can be driven on the surface to manipulatematerials to form objects, such as 3D braided structures or 3D printedstructures. The carriers can also be used to transport and/or assemblecomponents.

A. 3D Braiding

FIGS. 21A and 21B illustrate an example of 3D braiding using theapparatus and methods described elsewhere herein. A plurality ofcarriers 2104 may be disposed on a surface 2102 of an apparatus 2100.The carriers may be configured to support a plurality of bobbins (notshown). Fiber 2112 may be fed via the bobbins to a braiding point 2106at which the braiding process takes place. At the braiding point theremay reside a braiding ring. The surface of the apparatus may comprise aplurality of carrier guides (not shown) that are substantiallyequidistant from the braiding point or ring. The distances of thecarriers to the braiding point may remain substantially the same as thecarriers move about the surface. This equidistance aids in maintainingline tension of the fibers during the braiding process. In someexamples, the distance of each carrier guide to the braiding point maybe about 100 mm to about 600 mm. Alternatively, the distance of eachcarrier guide to the braiding point may be less than 100 mm or greaterthan 600 mm. Optionally, the distance of each carrier guide to thebraiding point may be on the order of 1 m, 2 m, 3 m, 4 m, 5 m, or morethan 5 m.

The hemispherical shape of the surface provides improved flexibility formoving the carriers in-plane and out-of-plane. This can allowcomplex-shaped 3D braided structures to be formed. The 3D braidedstructures may include objects having continuous profiles (e.g.,I-beams, L-beams, aircraft buttresses, etc.), as well as objects that donot have continuous profiles (e.g., having amorphous shapes or volumes).Referring to FIGS. 21A and 21B, a 3D braided structure 2110 can beformed by controlling the bobbin-carriers to move on the surface invarious motion paths 2108. The motion paths of the carriers mayintersect at different points in time to create the 3D braidedstructure. Since the surface is substantially hemispherical, thecarriers remain substantially equidistant to the braiding point,regardless of the motion or location of the carriers anywhere on thesurface. Accordingly, the line tension of the fibers can be maintainedas the bobbin-carriers move about in different directions and alongcomplex motion paths on the surface. Adequate line tensioning can leadto improved quality and reliability of the 3D braided structure.

B. 3D Printing

FIGS. 22A and 22B illustrate an example of 3D printing using theapparatus and methods described elsewhere herein. A plurality ofcarriers 2204 may be disposed on a surface 2202 of an apparatus 2200.The carriers may be configured to support one or more types of non-fibercarrying devices 2206. Example of non-fiber carrying devices may includematerial sprayers, matrix injectors, jet dispensers, etc. The non-fibercarrying devices 2206 may be configured to generate a 3D printedstructure 2210, for example by dispensing a material 2212 (e.g., powdermaterials or inks) as the carriers move about on the surface of theapparatus in various motion paths 2208. As previously mentioned, thehemispherical shape of the surface provides improved flexibility formoving the carriers in-plane and out-of-plane, which may allowcomplex-shaped 3D printed objects to be formed.

C. Transportation and Assembly of Components

In addition to 3D braiding or 3D printing, the apparatus and methodsdisclosed herein may be used for materials conveyance or parts assembly.The carriers may be configured to support assembly robots. The assemblyrobots can be used to assemble components to form a finished orunfinished product. Mobility to the assembly robots is provided by thecarriers which can be controlled to move on the surface of the apparatusin various motion paths. The assembly by the robots may includemechanical and/or electrical coupling (attachment) between variouscomponents. The assembly can also be accomplished by robots mountedexternally to the field, for example, that are configured to addintegrated sub-components to a braided structure during carrier weavingoperations.

FIG. 23 illustrates a system 2300 comprising an apparatus 2302. Theapparatus may correspond to those described elsewhere herein. The systemcan be used in a manufacturing environment to create an object, forexample a 3D braided structure. Referring to FIG. 23, the apparatus maycomprise a hemispherical inner surface. A plurality of carriers (notshown) may be disposed on the surface. The carriers may be configured tosupport a plurality of bobbins (not shown). Fiber 2304 may be fed viathe bobbins to a braiding point 2306 at which the braiding process takesplace. The braiding point may be located on an upper robotic arm 2308. Alower robotic arm 2310 may be configured for arbor/core insertion. Thelower robotic arm may be configured to grasp an active workpiece inunified motion with the upper robotic arm to provide greater positionalrigidity to the workpiece, in resistance to other forces such asbraiding line tensions and other robots manipulating lines and otherobjects associated with the workpiece. The objects may include insertedsubcomponents, externally attached shells/mold components, etc. In someexamples, a test assembly may include a plurality of assembly robotsstationed around the field. The apparatus may comprise a door 2312 thatcan open or close an opening 2314 on a bottom surface of the door 2312.Additional fiber 2316 may be fed into and out of the apparatus throughthe opening 2314. Magazines of loaded carriers 2318 can be deliveredinto the field through the door, and empty magazines can be extractedfrom the field through the door. A field attachable magazine withinternal field/stator coils may be configured for self-loading andunloading to and from the field. In some cases, a removable hole portionof the apparatus may also serve as a carrier magazine.

The surface of the apparatus may comprise a plurality of carrier guides(not shown) that are substantially equidistant from the braiding point2306. The distances of the carriers to the braiding point may remainsubstantially the same as the carriers move about the surface. Thisequidistance aids in maintaining line tension of the fibers during thebraiding process.

During the 3D braiding operation, the braided structure may becontinuously retracted and collected, for example by another robotic arm(not shown). A controller 2320 may be configured to activate one or morestator coils of the apparatus to generate an electromagnetic field fordriving the carriers on the surface of the apparatus, as describedelsewhere herein. It should be appreciated that the apparatus describedherein can be extended for use in other applications and in differentconfigurations, and need not be limited to the setup shown in FIG. 23.

FIG. 24 illustrates a carrier loading system 2400 in accordance withsome embodiments. The system may include, and/or may be used with any ofthe apparatus or manufacturing methods described elsewhere herein. Theapparatus may be capable of creating an object, for example a 3D braidedstructure or a 3D printed structure as described elsewhere herein. Thesystem can include one or more devices or mechanisms for (1)loading/feeding carriers into the apparatus, and/or (2) unloading orremoving carriers from the apparatus. The system may include, forexample one or more on/off ramps for introducing new carriers into theapparatus and removal of used carriers from the apparatus. Used carriersas described herein may refer to carriers that carry used fiber ends,and new carriers may refer to carriers that carry new fibers. Thecarriers may be transported on the ramps using any of the actuationmechanisms and principles described elsewhere herein. In someembodiments, the ramps may include linear arrays (see, e.g. FIGS. 3A-Eand 4A-E) of the same type of magnetic units that are used in ahemispherical array within the apparatus described elsewhere herein. Thelinear arrays may extend from one or more edge circumferential portionsof the hemispherical array. The linear arrays of magnetic units need notcomprise any moving or movable parts. The carriers may be transportedsequentially along the linear arrays of magnetic units, by modulatingthe polarities of the magnetic fields to create attractive and repulsiveforces to generate translational forces, as described elsewhere herein.

When the carriers are fed into the apparatus, they may be unloaded ontoan inner surface of the apparatus (e.g. any of the hemispherical innersurfaces described elsewhere herein) using a step-down loadingmechanism. In some embodiments, the step-down loading mechanisms mayinclude mechanical and/or magnetic fiber end grappling devices.Different loading mechanisms may be contemplated depending on the type,size and/or shape of the workpiece media.

In some alternative embodiments (not shown), the system may be aconveyor system comprising one or more moving conveyors, instead oflinear arrays of non-moving magnetic units for transportation ofcarriers. The system may be configured for external automated conveyanceof carriers (i.e. external to the apparatus, as opposed to conveyancelocated within or on the apparatus). Carriers may be transported in andout of the apparatus via conveyors. The conveyors may be provided viathe on-ramps and off-ramps.

Referring to FIG. 24, the carrier loading system may include a rampsystem. The ramp system may comprise a field exit ramp 2428 and a fieldentry ramp 2426. The field exit ramp and the field entry ramp mayinclude linear arrays of magnetic units 2430. The field exit ramp andthe field entry ramp may be integrally formed as a whole.

As shown in FIG. 24, the field exit ramp and the field entry ramp may becoupled to different portions (edges) of an apparatus 2432. The fieldexit ramp can be configured to remove one or more used carriers 2406from the apparatus, and the field entry ramp can be configured to loadone or more new carriers into the apparatus.

The one or more carriers exiting the apparatus may carry used fiber ends2404. The field exit ramp may extend towards a device 2402 that isconfigured to remove the used fiber ends from the carriers. In someembodiments, the device may include a plurality of spokes 2403. Eachspoke may have an extraction end 2405 that catches and removes the usedfiber ends as the carriers carrying the used fiber ends move past theextraction ends. The plurality of spokes may be freely movable such thatthe spokes rotate with the flow of carriers. As the carriers move pastthe spokes, they engage with the extraction ends in a gear-like mannercausing the spokes to rotate. The device 2402 can be configured toconcurrently extract lacing needles on the carriers along with the usedfiber ends. An enlarged tail/coupling area of a lacing needle can be setat a precise elevation by a carrier to align with the extraction end ofeach spoke.

In some alternative embodiments, the plurality of spokes may beoptionally configured to rotate in a direction opposite to the flow ofcarriers. The rotational speed and direction of the spokes (and spacingbetween the spokes) may be synchronized and aligned with thetranslational speed and direction of the conveyor system (and spacingbetween the carriers), such that each extraction end of the spokeprecisely catches the used fiber ends as a carrier carrying the usedfiber ends passes by the extraction end. For example, in FIG. 24, theplurality of spokes may be configured to rotate in a clockwisedirection, and the flow of carriers may be in an opposing tangentialdirection, thereby allowing the used fiber ends to be captured by thespokes via the counteracting motions. The used fiber ends may becaptured by the extraction ends at a predetermined frequency or at avariable frequency. In some embodiments, as the spokes continue torotate, the extraction ends of the spokes move into the housing of thedevice, where the used fiber ends and needles may be disposed in a bin(not shown). Such disposal can help to prevent excess used fiber endsand needles from accumulating at the extraction ends of the spokes, andensures that an extraction end is free of any residual objects prior tocapturing the used fiber ends and lacing needle on the next incomingcarrier.

After the used fiber ends and lacing needles are removed, the carrierscan be transported to an array of reloading positions 2410 that eachholds a pair of carriers, such that a carrier pair 2412 holding halvesof a single fiber 2416 can be automatically prepared. The reloadingarray can be configured in a variety of different arrangements andsizes. Each reloading position may comprise a plurality of magnet nodes.For example, FIG. 24 shows each reloading position having five magnetnodes as required by the depicted mode of conveyance, in order to permittwo carriers (a pair) to be adjacent to each other without physicallyblocking adjacent conveyor tracks. In some embodiments, a base of eachcarrier may be slightly less than twice a diameter of the magnet nodes.

Each pair of carriers may have a same vertical height. In somealternative embodiments, each pair of carriers may have differentvertical heights. In some cases, a pair of carriers may be staggeredrelative to each other (e.g. one carrier is further along a ramp thanthe other carrier), such that a longitudinal axis of the fiber isnon-orthogonal (e.g. oblique) to the direction of conveyance.

FIG. 25A illustrates a carrier reloading system 2500 in accordance withsome further embodiments. The carrier reloading system 2500 is similarto the system shown in FIG. 24, except FIG. 25A further illustrates anarray of paired loading devices 2424. FIG. 25B illustrates a magnifiedview ‘A’ of FIG. 25A showing a single reloading array in closer detail.A reloading array can be configured such that a carrier pair 2412holding halves of a single fiber 2416 can be automatically prepared, forexample as shown in magnified view ‘A’. The array of paired loadingdevices can attach lacing needles to lengths of fiber cut from a spooland feed them into one or two bobbin carriers.

Examples of lacing needle setups are further illustrated in FIGS. 26A,26B, 27A, and 27B. The lacing needle setups can be configured to allowfor on-field connection of fibers into unloaded carriers. Referring tothe above figures, in order to facilitate automated fiber loadingthrough each carrier's tensioning pulleys, a variety of farings 2418 canbe configured to guide a flexible wire lacing needle 2408 attached to anend of the fiber 2416, to an attachment point 2420 on the carrier bobbin2422, thereby allowing the carrier to wind up the needle and fiber. Oncethe fiber and needle have been wound, the carriers and carrier pairs mayfeed to the array of paired loading devices 2424 to await reentry intothe apparatus via the field entry ramp 2426. Fully automatic repeatedbraiding operations can be achieved using the above configurations,

FIG. 27B shows a single carrier with a loaded fiber 2416 that has alacing needle 2408 on both ends (one end protruding from the carrierorifice). The carrier can be transported onto the field of theapparatus, for example using the field entry ramp 2426 shown in FIGS. 24and 25A. A robot (not shown) can be configured to (1) capture an end ofthe lacing needle 2408 that is extended/protruded from the carrier, (2)thread the fiber 2416 through a workpiece/subcomponent, and (3) deliverthe needle to an unloaded carrier which can then reel in a portion ofthe fiber that is now shared between the two carriers. The twoworkpiece-threaded ends can be subsequently integrated into a braidingoperation. The above configuration can allow automated fiber threadingof holes in a workpiece, which is not presently available inconventional braiding setups.

Although certain embodiments and examples are provided in the foregoingdescription, the inventive subject matter extends beyond thespecifically disclosed embodiments to other alternative embodimentsand/or uses, and to modifications and equivalents thereof. Thus, thescope of the claims appended hereto is not limited by any of theparticular embodiments described below. For example, in any method orprocess disclosed herein, the acts or operations of the method orprocess may be performed in any suitable sequence and are notnecessarily limited to any particular disclosed sequence. Variousoperations may be described as multiple discrete operations in turn, ina manner that may be helpful in understanding certain embodiments;however, the order of description should not be construed to imply thatthese operations are order dependent. Additionally, the structures,systems, and/or devices described herein may be embodied as integratedcomponents or as separate components.

For purposes of comparing various embodiments, certain aspects andadvantages of these embodiments are described. Not necessarily all suchaspects or advantages are achieved by any particular embodiment. Thus,for example, various embodiments may be carried out in a manner thatachieves or optimizes one advantage or group of advantages as taughtherein without necessarily achieving other aspects or advantages as mayalso be taught or suggested herein.

As used herein A and/or B encompasses one or more of A or B, andcombinations thereof such as A and B. It will be understood thatalthough the terms “first,” “second,” “third” etc. may be used herein todescribe various elements, components, regions and/or sections, theseelements, components, regions and/or sections should not be limited bythese terms. These terms are merely used to distinguish one element,component, region or section from another element, component, region orsection. Thus, a first element, component, region or section discussedbelow could be termed a second element, component, region or sectionwithout departing from the teachings of the present disclosure.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to limit the present disclosure. Asused herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”and/or “comprising,” or “includes” and/or “including,” when used in thisspecification, specify the presence of stated features, regions,integers, steps, operations, elements and/or components, but do notpreclude the presence or addition of one or more other features,regions, integers, steps, operations, elements, components and/or groupsthereof.

Furthermore, relative terms, such as “lower” or “bottom” and “upper” or“top” may be used herein to describe one element's relationship to otherelements as illustrated in the figures. It will be understood thatrelative terms are intended to encompass different orientations of theelements in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. Forexample, if the element in one of the figures is turned over, elementsdescribed as being on the “lower” side of other elements would then beoriented on the “upper” side of the other elements. The exemplary term“lower” can, therefore, encompass both an orientation of “lower” and“upper,” depending upon the particular orientation of the figure.Similarly, if the element in one of the figures were turned over,elements described as “below” or “beneath” other elements would then beoriented “above” the other elements. The exemplary terms “below” or“beneath” can, therefore, encompass both an orientation of above andbelow.

While preferred embodiments have been shown and described herein, itwill be obvious to those skilled in the art that such embodiments areprovided by way of example only. Numerous variations, changes, andsubstitutions will now occur to those skilled in the art withoutdeparting from the scope of the disclosure. It should be understood thatvarious alternatives to the embodiments described herein may be employedin practice. Numerous different combinations of embodiments describedherein are possible, and such combinations are considered part of thepresent disclosure. In addition, all features discussed in connectionwith any one embodiment herein can be readily adapted for use in otherembodiments herein. It is intended that the following claims define thescope of the disclosure and that methods and structures within the scopeof these claims and their equivalents be covered thereby.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus comprising: a magnetic device arranged in a three-dimensional configuration; a surface on which at least one carrier is configured to move, wherein the magnetic device is configured to provide a magnetic field for driving the carrier on the surface to manipulate a material; one or more sensors configured to detect changes in electrical currents delivered to the magnetic device array as the carrier moves on the surface of the apparatus; and a controller configured to control the magnetic device array to modulate a polarity of the magnetic field at different locations on the surface, wherein the controller is further configured to detect a position and/or motion of the carrier based at least in part on the changes in electrical currents detected using the one or more sensors.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the magnetic field is modulated to drive the carrier to manipulate the material to form an object, and wherein the object is selected from a group consisting of a three-dimensional braided structure, a three-dimensional printed structure, and a three-dimensional assembled structure.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the magnetic device array comprises one or more magnetic devices selected from a group consisting of stator coils, movable permanent magnets, and switchable permanent magnets.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the material is selected from a group consisting of fibers, liquid polymers, powder materials, and inks.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the surface comprises one or more tracks along which the carrier is configured to move, wherein the one or more tracks correspond to gaps between adjacently-spaced carrier guides of a plurality of carrier guides, and wherein the plurality of carrier guides are arranged in a grid pattern.
 6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the one or more tracks are configured to cause the carrier to move in a translational or rotational manner.
 7. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the one or more tracks are configured to cause the carrier to change its direction during motion.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the carrier comprises a magnet disposed thereon for interacting with the magnetic field.
 9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to drive the carrier on the surface by modulating the magnetic field.
 10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to drive the carrier to move in three dimensions along a predetermined path on the surface.
 11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more sensors are (i) disposed in a spacing between adjacently-spaced stator coils of the magnetic device array or (ii) embedded in through-holes located at a center of one or more stator coils of the magnetic device array.
 12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein one or more components of the magnetic device array are movable, and wherein movement of the one or more components causes the magnetic device array to switch between different magnetic field states to modulate the magnetic field for driving the carrier on the surface of the apparatus.
 13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to selectively activate one or more subsets of stator coils of the magnetic device array, based on spatial or motion information of the carrier, to drive the carrier along a desired path on the surface of the apparatus.
 14. A method of actuating a carrier, comprising: providing a magnetic device array arranged in a three-dimensional configuration; providing a surface on which the carrier is configured to move; activating, with aid of a controller, the magnetic device array to provide a magnetic field by delivering electrical currents to the magnetic device array; modulating a polarity of the magnetic field at different locations on the surface to drive the carrier on the surface to manipulate a material, via the magnetic field provided by the magnetic device array; using one or more sensors to detect changes in the electrical currents delivered to the magnetic device array as the carrier moves on the surface of the apparatus; and detecting, with aid of the controller, a position and/or motion of the carrier based at least in part on the changes in electrical currents detected using the one or more sensors.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein the carrier is driven on the surface to manipulate the material to form an object, and wherein the object is selected from a group consisting of a three-dimensional braided structure, a three-dimensional printed structure, and a three-dimensional assembled structure.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the magnetic device array comprises one or more magnetic devices selected from a group consisting of stator coils, movable permanent magnets, and switchable permanent magnets.
 17. The method of claim 14, wherein the material is selected from a group consisting of fibers, liquid polymers, powder materials, and inks.
 18. The method of claim 14, comprising: driving the carrier along one or more tracks on the surface to manipulate the material, wherein the one or more tracks correspond to gaps between adjacently-spaced carrier guides of a plurality of carrier guides, and wherein the plurality of carrier guides are arranged in a grid pattern.
 19. The method of claim 18, comprising: driving the carrier along the one or more tracks in a translational or rotational manner.
 20. The method of claim 18, comprising: changing a direction of the carrier as the carrier is being driven along the one or more tracks.
 21. The method of claim 14, wherein the carrier comprises a magnet disposed thereon for interacting with the magnetic field.
 22. The method of claim 14, comprising: driving, with aid of the controller, the carrier on the surface by modulating the magnetic field.
 23. The method of claim 14, comprising: driving, with aid of the controller, the carrier to move in three dimensions along a predetermined path on the surface.
 24. The method of claim 14, wherein the one or more sensors are (i) disposed in a spacing between adjacently-spaced stator coils of the magnetic device array or (ii) embedded in through-holes located at a center of one or more stator coils of the magnetic device array.
 25. The method of claim 14, wherein one or more components of the magnetic device array are movable, the method further comprising: moving the one or more components to cause the magnetic device array to switch between different magnetic field states, thereby modulating the magnetic field to drive the carrier on the surface of the apparatus.
 26. The method of claim 14, further comprising using the controller to selectively activate one or more subsets of stator coils of the magnetic device array, based on spatial or motion information of the carrier, to drive the carrier along a desired path on the surface of the apparatus. 